The Best is Yet to Come
by romeocitychicag
Summary: (Originally on Metal Gear Amino) Just a high school AU story. Watch as new student David Pliskin meets an odd fellow in a locker named Hal. The two develop a relationship alongside a conspiracy that threatens to uproot the entire nation. The location is Anchorage, Alaska, the year is 1992.
1. Chapter 1

The Best is Yet to Come (Chapter 1)

 **Author's Note: _Yes,_ this is a high school AU, laugh all you want (though you're still reading this, so I must have done _s_ _omething_ right). I'm mainly posting it here now so I don't have to deal with a major influx of chapters later (the doc manager is a total pain). This was initially on my Metal Gear Amino (of the same name, if you're interested), and that's all I have left to say. I hope you enjoy.**

* * *

The darkened bedroom was still and silent, with only a few rays of sunshine peeking through the curtains in the early morning. The tranquility wouldn't last long.

Dave's alarm clock blared. In his half-waking state, he threw his arm onto the snooze button and retracted it when the incessant buzzing ceased. "Why did that stupid alarm clock go off?" he muttered, pulling his blanket over himself again.

"Because it's the first day of school." A body rose from the bed across from Dave's, donned in blue sleep pants and a white tank top. He made his way to the light switch in the corner of the room and flicked it on.

"Yeah. Right." Dave threw the covers off of himself and sluggishly sat up. He instinctively shut his eyes from the harsh light. "I'm usually the one waking you up, Eli." he remarked, repressing a yawn.

"Just hurry up and get ready. You know how Mom hates us being late for breakfast." He now strided over to his dresser and pulled open the first drawer, tossing out a pair of socks.

"I'll be in the bathroom." Dave padded out in his own checkered pants and T-shirt to the small bathroom across the hall from his and Eli's room. He flipped the light switch on once inside, this time shielding his eyes from the luminous assault. He grabbed his toothbrush from the silver cup on the sink, applied toothpaste, and jammed the bristles into his mouth, scrubbing vigorously.

He heard knocking on the door. "Can I come in?" the voice outside asked.

"George?" Dave thrusted his face over the sink to catch the foam spilling from his mouth. "Don't worry about it, come in."

The door cracked open and George walked in, fully dressed in a maroon sweater vest with a dark blue collar peeking out and neatly pressed khakis. He reached over Dave to retrieve his own toothbrush.

Dave spit into the sink. "What's with the getup?"

"I just want to make a good first impression."

"Are you nervous or something?" Dave deposited his toothbrush back into the cup and took the bottle of face wash next to it.

George turned away. "N-Not at all! Good leaders have to look the part, you know!"

Dave rolled his eyes as he spread the charcoal colored gel over his face. " _Right."_

* * *

Dave bounded down the stairs dressed in a simple black V-neck and jeans, the scent of cooking eggs and bacon growing stronger. He entered the kitchen to find Eli already reclining in his chair at the table and his father reading the newspaper directly across from him. The scene was very much akin to a typical 1950s family.

"Good morning David," his mother warmly greeted. "Sit down; breakfast is almost ready."

Dave did as he was told, taking a seat next to his dad. He heard the crinkling of the newspaper as it was folded and placed to the side.

"Mornin' champ," he announced. "How ya feelin' about your first day of school?"

Dave shrugged his shoulders. "Alright, I guess." With the two next to each other, it was easy to see how much Dave was the spitting image of his old man: the brown hair, strong jawline, broad shoulders, and piercing blue eyes. His two other brothers had lighter hair and softer features, bearing more of a resemblance to their mother.

George came into the kitchen at last, completing the family gathering. "Morning Mom! Morning Dad!"

His mother broke out into a grin. "And good morning to you too!"

"Hey son." Dad forced himself into a weak smirk.

The clinking of dishes from the cupboard above the stove was heard, and servings of food were doled out. Everyone took their places at the table and ate.

"Dave, you're in ROTC, right?" Dad asked, shovelling a bite of egg into his mouth.

"Yes, Dad."

"Jeez, why the sudden hard-on for Dave in the military?" Eli whined.

"Because he has a future in service to our country," The older man plucked a strip of bacon off of his plate. "I can't say the same about you."

"Whatever."

After an awkward moment of silence, George eagerly piped up. "Dad, what are you gonna do today?"

"I'm going to train new troops at Fort Richardson. Apparently these guys need to be whipped into shape, _badly_."

"Then looks like you have your work cut out for you, Jack." Mom jeered.

The rest of breakfast passed by without a hitch, and Mom gathered the excess dishes. Dad approached her and gave her a quick kiss on her cherry red lips.

"Everyone, have a good first day." Mom announced.

"I will, Mom!" George said.

Eli scoffed and grabbed his car keys from the dish on the counter. "I'll drive."

"Do you know the way?" Dave asked while slipping on his backpack.

"Yes, I do. Don't worry about it." Eli slung his own bag over his shoulder. "Let's go."

* * *

The first day of school always brought heart-wrenching anxiety to Hal.

He'd barely slept the night before; he was too busy replaying the events of previous years in his head, and contemplating the new levels of cruelty he would experience.

The next morning, he saw in the mirror while wiping the sweat off of his face how pale and tired he looked. He splashed water onto his face, hoping the dark circles under his eyes would wash away like fresh ink on paper. The raggedy reflection still stared back at him, just a little wetter now. Sighing, he sulked back to his room and pulled on his outfit, a blue button-up shirt and beige pants. He placed his glasses delicately on his nose and adjusted the circular frames.

He then went to go check on his stepsister in her room, which was right next to his. He cracked the door open gently. Still sleeping, her teddy bear caught in a death grip between her spindly arms. He breathed a chuckle and slowly pulled the door shut. Hal then peeked into his parents' open entryway. As he figured, his mother (well, stepmother) was out cold, tangled up in her blankets across the whole length of the bed, his father nowhere to be seen.

Hal travelled downstairs and into the family's spacious kitchen. He decided to only grab a handful of berries from the fridge for breakfast, as his stomach was too tight from nerves for much more. He still had to make something for his sister, though. He was running late already, so he removed the toaster from the cabinet below him and found a lone slice of bread in the breadbox to shove in there. He went about gathering all of his school supplies in the meantime: floppy disks for his computer classes, pencils, binders with notebooks and sticky notes tucked inside, and a spare change of clothes. He heard the toaster pop, and rushed back into the kitchen to yank it out. Blowing on his fingers, he opened the nearby cupboard for a jar of peanut butter and the silverware drawer for a butter knife. He hurriedly spread the paste on the bread and placed it on a plate and on the counter, cleaning everything up in record time. He knew how his stepmother hated a messy kitchen.

He then slipped on a pair of sneakers and raced out the door to the bus stop around the corner. The neighborhood he lived in was quite upscale and well maintained, ornate gardens dotting the areas around the street and houses, which all stood at equal height, fighting for sun exposure. The upper stories all accommodated winding balconies, usually with patio furniture scattered along the length to gaze at wildlife or the setting sun. Across the street from the bus stop, there was a pristine lake enclosed by pine rising sun tinted the crystal water a pastel pink, completing the soothing and vibrant color scheme of the scenery.

Hal stopped to catch his breath under a manicured tree close to the stop. A few other teenagers were already waiting in the area, either leaning on the fences of nearby homes or just standing around. He adjusted his glasses and waited under the tree for the bus to come, hoping it wouldn't.

* * *

Hal hopped off of the bus on shaky knees. He looked up at the behemoth itself: Barrett High School. The yellow letters and blue his of the building looked so typical, so uninteresting and insignificant. It felt like a slap in the face to Hal. The other kids on the bus were streaming around him, and beginning to get annoyed at his lack of action. He sharply inhaled, gripped the straps of his backpack, and pressed on into the school.

Once inside, he pulled a folded piece of paper from his shirt pocket and opened it up. His schedule.

"Okay, I have my programming class first," he said to himself. "It's pretty close to my locker, I'll just drop off my other books and make a break for it." He scurried over to his blue locker in the middle of the hallway, number D317. He quickly glanced over his shoulder and inputted the combination. After another check, he pulled up and the locker swung open. Hal dropped his backpack to the ground and unzipped it to retrieve his books.

Right when he grabbed his calculus book, he received a harsh kick to his side, throwing the book out of his hands with a blunt thud. "Someone's a klutz today, aren't they _Hal_?"

Hal's stomach dropped. Without saying a word, he scrambled to pick up the textbook and shove it into the bottom of his locker.

The voice behind him grew indignant. "You look at me when I talk to you, geek!" They grabbed the smaller male by the back of his shirt and forcibly turned him around. The voice belonged to a tall and intimidating figure now hovering over him. He saw a darker skinned girl with yellow highlights and a ghostly pale fatter teenager beside him.

Hal curled into himself. "W-W-What d-do you wwwwwant, Adam?" Tears were already beginning to form in the corners of his eyes.

"Listen to this pussy!" Adam announced. His goons laughed. "Jesus, you are just _asking_ for it!"

"I want the first jab at him!" the woman sneered. She shooed Adam aside and sharply kicked Hal again, this time square in the chest with the tip of her curled up boot. He wheezed and squeaked at the impact. " _You gonna cry_?"

The tears were already starting to run down Hal's cheeks, staining his glasses. He wanted to take them off; unfortunately, the pasty boy did that for him.

"You don't need these, right?" He mocked in a thick British accent. He dropped the spectacles to the ground and crushed them under his heel.

"No!" Hal cried. He squinted up to his tormentors, pressing his back to the cold locker. He couldn't help but fully burst into crying as they took turns beating him up.

* * *

Dave trudged into the main hallway of Barrett High, mentally exhausted and annoyed beyond belief. As he suspected, Eli _didn't_ know where he was going, but insisted on getting coffee before school (which Dave declined), claiming "they were already late, what's a few more minutes?" When they finally showed up twenty minutes past first period, they had gotten snarky looks from the secretary that buzzed them in (George was almost in tears).

Dave paced around, staring at his schedule and looking for room 69. He stayed in confusion until he heard sniffling come from a locker next to him.

"Huh?" he muttered. He approached the locker and listened closely. He heard the noise again, this time with more whimpering. "Is somebody in there?"

The whimpering silenced. Dave peered into the slits on top and found wisps of curly blond hair grazing the bottom of the view. _What was a kid doing in a locker?_ He figured it was some kind of prank, and he needed a hand. "I see you in there. I'm gonna try and get you out."

He pulled out his school ID. Being able to crack open a high school locker wasn't a skill Dave exactly flaunted, but it always was a useful trick, particularly when him or his brother forgot their combinations and needed their supplies at that exact moment. He wedged his ID in between the locker door and side up by the slits and waved it around. The card hit something stiff, so Dave pressed it into the side as much as he could to fit under the obstacle. In a simultaneous action, the object clicked and the locker door swung open. He found a small boy, face drenched with tears, with his arms crossed over his chest like a mummy in a coffin that reeked of urine and sweat.

"What the hell happened?" Dave balked. "Are you okay?"

The boy painfully opened his eyes. "On God, y-you're here to beat me up too, a-a-aren't you?"

"What?"

"SSSSSStop lying!"

"Why would I beat you up? I don't even know you!"

"Hal?" An adult in a black shirt and pink tie races down the hallway to his and Dave's location. "Thank goodness, you're alright."

"Mr. Smith!" Hal reached out a hand, which the teacher accepted and pulled Hal out of the locker. "I'm so happy you're here!"

"Yes, but it seems somebody else already freed you." He turned his attention to Dave. "What's your name, young man?"

"David," Dave blurted. "David Pliskin."

"Pliskin…" The teacher looked up to the ceiling. "Wait, you and your brothers are the new transfers from California, aren't you?"

"Yes, sir."

"Why aren't you in your first period class?"

Dave figured he wouldn't turn in his twin on the first day. "I….got lost."

"Can I see your schedule?" When Dave handed it over, a renewed round of sniffling was heard from Hal. "Oh, I'm sorry Hal. You have your spare clothes, right?"

Dave noticed that Hal had a dark stain in between his legs, that almost seemed to be dripping. "Did you, um…" Hal's rose red face was enough of an answer. He clutched his backpack close to him.

"Well, anyway," Mr. Smith continued. "Your Algebra class is right next to my classroom."

"I c-can show you there." Hal whimpered. "S-Sorry I accused you of being a b-bully earlier."

"Uh, don't worry about it." Everything about this boy in front of Dave just screamed _pitiful_. "You seem like you've already had a rough day."


	2. Chapter 2

The Best is Yet to Come (Chapter 2)

Dave sat in his Algebra class completely dumbfounded. Not only did he see no familiar faces in the crowd of students surrounding him, he was still somewhat reeling over the incident he took part in earlier. Was this a regular occurence? Is beating kids up and shoving them into lockers this school's idea of a practical joke? He found a lot of free time to ponder this; only introductions and icebreakers squeezed between the class syllabus occupied that period. The desks were turned inward to form tables, and Dave found himself positioned so he faced the door. He absentmindedly stared out the open entryway, lost in thought.

"Hi," A bright, feminine voice snapped him out of his daze. He looked to the source of the voice, a girl with short red hair and light blue eyes sitting in the desk across from him. Her hand was outstretched. "I'm Meryl. You are…?" Her gaze drifted to the board.

Dave followed her line of sight. There was a chart drawn on with all of the names of the students in the class in rows and columns. Most likely just another icebreaker activity that he wasn't paying attention to. "Oh, I'm Dave." He shook her hand.

"Nice to meet you." The male noticed her subtle purple eye shadow and the sparkle of her lip gloss. She was a pretty good-looking person to be facing for the whole class period. "I haven't seen you around the school before."

"Yeah, I just moved here."

"Where did you come from?" she asked in a sultry voice.

"Uh, California."

Meryl showed only mild surprise. "California? That's a pretty big difference in weather. Now I'm surprised that you didn't freeze to the ground on your way here."

"Honestly, I am too."

Meryl's giggle made Dave blush. "I thought that was why you were late."

Dave laid his arm across his desk. "No, that was my brother. Guy didn't know where he was going."

"Struggles of the first day, I guess. Maybe you should have taken the bus instead until you knew the roads."

"Um, yeah. That's a better idea, isn't it…"

They both ran out of things to say rather quickly. Dave and Meryl turned their attention to the teacher, who ragged on other introductory statements in the front of the classroom (most other kids looked glazed over by that point). In an act of mercy, the bell finally rang and the students sauntered out, each hefting out a weighty algebra book.

Dave balanced his book on his arm while he pulled his schedule out of his pocket. "Let's see here," He flipped over the folded piece of paper and peered at the scrawled on markings: his locker number and combination. "All the way across the hall?" He sighed and trudged forward. At the very least, he was going downstream with the other teens, making the trip a little faster and more bearable.

Dave finally made it to his locker, D223. he spun out the combination (having more difficulty than he'd like to admit) and dumped in his book with a huff of frustration. He unfolded his schedule to find that he had English next. In room 128. Across the hall. _Again_. David, resigned, fought through the crowd coming in the opposite direction.

When Dave made it to class, he threw his bag down and sat in the back, the only place with open seats. The bell rang shortly after.

In the upper left corner, a young male teacher wearing a blue polo shirt rose from his desk and approached the door behind Dave. He closed it and returned to the front of the classroom. "Good morning, class. My name is Mr. Palmer."

He then launched into a tirade about the class. Dave leaned back in his seat, not bothering to pay attention, until a few minutes in he heard someone come through the door.

"Most of the work in this class will be-" Mr. Palmer halted. All of the kids in the class turned to face the newcomer. "Mister, are you in the wrong room?"

"I'm pretty sure this is my next class." Dave heard a thump as the kid slid into his chair. He looked over and saw his brother, who flashed a joking grin. The brunette internally groaned.

Palmer was a bit confused by his nonchalance. "Well, try not to be late next time, then." He chose to ignore it and return to his lecture.

"Did you really have to be late on the first day, Eli?" Dave whispered.

"It's senior year, I can cut back a little," the blond muttered back. "Besides, I met this really cool guy in earth science."

"Of course you did."

"And that about wraps that up," Mr. Palmer said. "I'll take attendance now. I'm sure you all know the drill by now. Just correct me if I get your name wrong." He went down the list, his announcements being met with bored responses.

"Elliot and...David Pliskin?" The brothers raised their hands. "Is there any relation?"

"Twins." Dave answered.

"Twins. I see."

Dave pursed his lips while Eli showed off a stupid smile.

* * *

After three more agonizingly long and slow class periods, Dave stepped into the cafeteria and breathed a sigh of relief. He surveyed the blue and white room, which was loud and bustling with most of the senior class. Clusters of students were gathered around circular lunch tables, hunched over their meals and engaged in conversation. However, the male saw a familiar lone body sitting at a table in the corner, engrossed in a book.

Dave walked over and stood in front of the person. "Um, Hal, right?"

Hal looked up. "Oh, i-it's you….Dave." He hurriedly slammed his book shut and shoved it to the side.

"I assume I'm right. Mind if I sit here?"

Hal flushed. "No, n-not at all! P-P-Please!" He felt his heart race as Dave pulled out a chair and sat down. The other boy unzipped his bag and pulled out a brown paper sack. He tore it open and slid out a plastic container with a fork and an orange. Hal dragged his book back to him and tried to find his page again, but he couldn't help but stare when the other boy popped open the container to his spaghetti and twirled it around his cutlery.

Dave looked at him quizzically. "Do you have anything to eat?"

"I, um, I-" Hal cleared his throat. "I didn't have time this morning."

"Well, here then." Dave rolled his orange over, with Hal blocking it from tumbling off of the table. He accepted and appraised it.

"Uh, th-thank you." He meekly tried to work his fingers under the peel. He only managed to successfully take off a tiny spot. When Dave looked at him, he kept at it with a new vigor.

After a few moments, Dave broke the silence. "Hey, I've been meaning to ask you something."

Hal managed to tear off the rest of the peel and yank out a slice of fruit. "...W-What?"

Dave tapped his finger on the table. He stopped before he spoke. "Well, what happened this morning? Was it like a joke, or…?"

Hal froze. He felt his throat constrict and tears well up in his eyes. "It's a l-long ssssstory…"

Dave stopped eating. "'A long story?'"

"Y-Yeah," The other boy placed the fruit onto the table and wrung his hands. "It's been happening since my f-f-freshman year."

"Really? Why hasn't anyone stopped it?"

"I-I don't know!" Hal blubbered. Hot trails of fluid streamed down his cheeks. He dropped his head in shame. "I tried, b-but…"

"You know what, don't worry about it." Dave consoled. "It's not your fault."

Hal sighed in relief. He took a bite of the gifted orange, the sweet tanginess spread across his tongue helping him to relax more. "Thank you again for the orange."

Dve shrugged his shoulders, chasing another forkful of pasta. Desperate to relieve the growing awkwardness, he peered over at Hal's book. "You take calculus?"

"Uh, yeah?"

"I bet that class is pretty hard."

Hal straightened up and raised his head more. "Well, it's only the first day. I don't think I'm going to be very good at it."

"In any case, you're already doing better than only-in-Algebra over here."

"I-I'm sure that you're smart! Don't sell yourself short like that!"

"You first."

Hal blushed. "O-Okay…" he giggled.

The bell rang. Dave visibly winced. "Well, I guess we'll pick this up later." However, he had only really said it to himself, as Hal had already scooped up his things and dashed out of the cafeteria.

* * *

To a bored and tired high schooler, the buzzing of the last period bell brought more relief than rain to droughted land.

Dave walked out of the weight room, slightly drowsy and free of sweat. He swung his backpack over his shoulder and went to go find his twin. They were all supposed to meet up at the front of the school to drive home, but he worried that George would get lost or Eli wouldn't show up at all, getting sidetracked with one of his new "friends." He decided to look for his younger brother.

Though he had no idea where he was going.

He found a map of the school on a wall close to him, thought it might as well have been Egyptian hieroglyphics. The wire-thin rectangular lines and boxes of color made no sense to him.

"Hey, are you lost?" Dave felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around to see a dark-skinned teen wearing a black hoodie. He waved in front of the confused student's face. "I'm talking to _you_ , you know."

"Er, yes, I could use some help." Dave pondered for a useful question. "Do you know where the freshman classes are?"

"You see the red on the map?" The stranger pointed to a large zone directly opposite to a blue area. "That's where the freshies are. You're standing in the blue right now."

"Thank you so much." Dave sighed.

"Don't worry about it. In fact, I'll escort you down there. I gotta meet a buddy there anyway." He stuffed his hands in his pockets and jerked his shoulder in the direction of the hallways.

The two were only walking for a little bit when the other male felt something nudging his ankle. Dave questioningly glanced at him. "Huh?"

"Yo, you wanna buy some weed?" A plastic crinkling sound was heard, and he hunched over closer to Dave. He opened up his jacket and showed the brunette bags of skunk-smelling flora concealed in a hidden inside pocket.

"Uh, no thank you." Dave curtly stated.

"Alright," He zipped up his jacket again. "But if you ever need a pick-me-up, remember Drebin. I got more than just Mary Jane, if that's not your style."

"Okay…" Dave stepped away from him a small amount.

The hallway walls were beginning to meld into a faint reddish tint, a bold crimson stripe serving as accent. The lockers in this corridor were also the same bright scarlet. Only a few students were milling around at this time, Dave recognizing none of them as either of his brothers.

"My guy should be here." Drebin pointed to the door of the men's bathroom. "Can you take it from here?"

"I think I'll be alright," Dave answered. "Thanks a lot for your help back there, though."

"It's cool."

The door of the men's room swung open, and Eli emerged from it. He wiped his hands on his jeans and approached Drebin. "What's up, man?"

"Nothing else much," Drebin did a sort of fist-bump with Eli. "Just had to help this guy around." he jabbed a thumb toward Dave.

Eli's face lit up. "Hey, this is the guy I was telling you about!"

"Really?" Drebin stepped closer to Dave and eyed him up. "This guy's your _twin_?"

"We get that a lot," Dave moaned. "Are you Eli's 'cool new friend?'" Figures his brother would make friends with a drug dealer.

"Yep," the blond said. "I guess you two already met, huh?"

"He offered to help me get here." Dave peered around. "You didn't happen to see George, did you?"

"I found him earlier. He said he needed to grab a form or something."

As if on cue, the pitter-patter of shoes on tile came from an adjacent hallway, george approaching the group from it. He waved a piece of paper in the air. "I got it, Eli! Oh, hi Dave!"

Dave sheepishly waved.

"That means I gotta go now." Eli said. "You have my phone number, right?"

"I gotcha covered." Drebin leaned in close to Eli. "And be sure to let me know what you think of my product. I always like to have customer feedback."

"Will do, buddy." They gave each other a last fist-bump, and Eli pulled the car keys out of his pocket with a jangle. "Let's get out of here."


	3. Chapter 3

The Best is Yet to Come (Chapter 3)

Finally. Hal was home.

He creaked open his front door and quickly pulled it shut behind him. Wasting no time, he approached the nearby dining room and placed his backpack on an open chair. Usually, he would do his homework around this time, but it being the first day, he had none.

He checked if his mother was still in her room. His father was still missing, but the bed was at least empty, and the thick maroon bedspread was neatly made up. She'd probably gone out shopping, as she usually did. Hal wrapped around the elegant nightstand and opened the windows. The room could due with some fresh air.

Hal then went to go fix himself a proper meal. His stomach had relaxed enough, and though the orange was an amazing display of generosity to him, it still wasn't exactly filling. He returned to the couch with a plated turkey sandwich and ate in silence.

He found himself contemplating his new acquaintance, Dave. He served as the perfect candidate for a knight in shining armor, looks-wise: a muscular form, intense blue eyes, and a gruff, commanding voice. Though he lacked the more stereotypical features (blond hair and a ride into the sunset), the new kid still stood out in Hal's mind. A warm and squirrelly feeling built up in his chest. He was mildly sweating now. Though fairly recent, the boy examined his memories like old photographs, turning them over and over again in his mind. If they were physical, he would have held them gingerly, thumbing the corners with a premature sense of nostalgia.

His train of thought splintered when he heard the home phone ring.

He raced back into the kitchen and picked up. "Hello?"

"Hal, is that you?" a sultry voice answered.

"Oh, Julie!" The phone jittered in Hal's hand. "Um, w-why are you calling?"

"I'm afraid that I can't make it back home tonight. You're going to have to take care of Emma."

"Does that mean that Dad's not coming back either?"

"I'm afraid so, sweetheart." she purred. "You know men and their science. They're so obsessed. But you don't mind, right?"

Hal shuddered. He gripped the receiver harder. "No, it's okay."

"Good. I love you, honey." Julie blew a kiss and hung up.

Hal replaced the phone on the wall and released a shaky exhale. He jumped again when the front door swung open.

"I'm home!" Emma's shrill voice rung out. She skipped inside, her deep red hair shining in the afternoon sunlight.

"Welcome home, Emma," He wiped his forehead and greeted his sister. "How was your day?"

"It was so much fun!" she cheered.

Hal slipped her backpack off from her shoulders and put on the chair next to his. He was already rifling around in it for her lunchbox. "That's awesome. I'd love to hear all about it."

"I think Mrs. Wilson is really nice."

"Is she your teacher?" Hal giggled. The theory of mind. Sometimes children just assume you know what they're talking about without actually telling you. It was one of the many qualities he thought to be endearing about his sister. He found her pink plastic lunchbox and walked into the kitchen. Emma followed him.

"Yeah! She gave us all candy, and told the mean kids to not pick on the nice ones."

"Well, that's good." A sigh escaped her older brother. But, his sister was in a good mood. He dropped the parts he was washing in the bottom of the sink. "Hey, you want to play the Nintendo?"

"Can we play Super Mario World?" She gasped from excitement. "Oh, will you play with me? _Pretty please_?"

A grin tugged at Hal's lips. "I would love to." He remembered Julie's call. "By the way, what do you want for dinner?"

* * *

Wrapped up in his blankets, Dave was in bliss. Even though it was still summer, he wasn't used to the lack of scorching heat in Alaska.

He heard a bang on the wall. He burrowed further.

Another slam. Then feet scurrying up the stairs.

His door swung open. "Dave, wake up! The house is on fire!"

"What?" He shot up in his bed. Eli was already trying to drag him out. "What's going on?"

"No time! Just get downstairs!" He shoved his brother out of their room and guided him down the stairs, into the kitchen.

"Here's the fire." Eli's face was scrunched from repressed cackling.

Dave only saw the kitchen table decked with various starches and veggies, an area in the middle ceremoniously set aside for the main protein.

George placed a fork and knife onto a folded napkin, then noticed Dave. "Dave, why do you have that look on your face?"

Dave glared at his brother, who burst into full on laughter. " _Someone_ told me that the house was on fire."

"That was kinda mean, wasn't it?" George chastised.

"You should have seen his face!" Eli wheezed.

George shrugged his shoulders and continued laying down silverware.

"Oh, settle down!" Eva appeared from the kitchen. "Your father's going to be home any minute."

"Okay, Mom." Eli exhaled, then sat down at the table, absentmindedly straightening out the tablecloth.

"Dave, will you help me pull the chicken out of the oven?"

"Sure." He followed his mother back to the kitchen and stood on the other side of the oven. The heat assaulted his face as his mother began to yank out the golden bird.

"Dave, wait! You don't have-"

"Ow!" Dave blew on his hands. His palms turned an angry red, and he raced over to the sink.

Eva winced. "You have to be more careful, sweetheart."

"Yeah. Sorry." He dunked his hands into the cool stream of water from the faucet. "Eli, can you take over?" he called.

"I'm coming." Making sure to swipe the potholders on the counter this time, he took the other end of the pan and hauled it to the table.

As they did so, the front door opened. It closed, and the heavy thud of boots approached the kitchen.

"Welcome home Jack," Eva smiled. She threw off her oven mitts and gave her husband a kiss.

"This all looks amazing, honey." He kissed his wife back and heard the sink shut off, his son letting out a low and pained hum. "What happened?"

"Burned myself on the chicken." Dave flicked his hands to dry and fan them. "Don't worry about it. I'm fine."

"I'm sure you are."

The Pliskin family all sat down in their respective places at the table and took hearty helpings of food. Everyone was indulging for the first few minutes before conversation initiated.

"I'm going out tonight." Eli announced.

"Where?" Eva asked. "When will you be back?"

"Is it with Drebin?" Dave shredded his chicken off the bone with his knife while he spoke, seemingly more engaged in that.

"Yeah."

"Wait, who's Drebin?" Jack questioned. Metal hit glass as he put his fork down.

"He's someone I met at school today." Eli shoveled mashed potatoes into his mouth and kept talking. "I mean, he kinda seemed weird to me at first, but then we got to talking-"

"Eating or speaking, please pick one." Dave huffed.

Eli rolled his eyes, but complied. He swallowed before continuing. "Anyway, he's a cool guy. He's gonna show me a park tonight." He stabbed a spear of asparagus. "Not sure when I'll be back."

"You'll be back by eleven," Eva said. "It's a school night."

"Yeah, I might not make it back-"

"Listen to your mother, Eli." Jack dictated. "She's keeping you from completely going off the deep end."

The blond took another bite without saying a word.

"I did something cool today!" George exclaimed. He now was squirming in his seat (and seemingly displeased with the awkward silence).

"What is it, honey?" his mother asked.

"I signed up for student government!"

Eva clapped her hands together. "That's wonderful, sweetheart!" She pulled her son closer and pecked him on the forehead. George beamed.

"Good for you George," Dave said. "What are you gonna run for?"

"I'm not sure yet. But the candidate's meeting is on Friday. The open spots will be shown then."

"Oh, you all are growing up so fast," Eva drawled. "Dave, Eli, I still remember when you two were little, and you both loved to play in boxes." She giggled, in a dreamy gaze. "It made my heart swell every time you both begged your father for one."

"Come on, Mom…" Dave whined. "Of course we did. We were, like, six. I thought you couldn't see me if I was hiding in one!"

"We were real stupid kids, weren't we, Dave?" Eli nudged his twin. Dave chuckled.

"Yeah, I was always the hero. The box was your fortress."

"Just…" Eva reclaimed her silverware. "I swear, you boys are the only ones getting older."

"It's okay Mom." George patted his mother's hand.

Jack loudly cleared his throat. "I think that's enough, Eva. They're grown men. They don't need their mother to baby them anymore."

"Yes, I suppose you're right."

The rest of dinner was filled with other everyday conversation of contemporary topics. When everything was cleaned up, the family dispersed for the night.

* * *

Hal retreated into the bathroom. After a poorly planned dinner of macaroni and cheese (with peas, for the obligation to have something healthy), he'd finally gotten Emma to go to bed, and he didn't want her to see this.

He peeled off his sleep shirt and examined his torso in front of the mirror. Fresh bruises already formed on his scrawny chest, and red welts were scattered throughout, trailing down to his abdomen. They stopped hurting continuously, but caused pain if they were pressed on. There wasn't much he could do about these injuries; he decided to just take some acetaminophen from the medicine cabinet and go back to his room.

When he entered and gently closed the door, the area was pitch black. He groped in the darkness for his desk light and flicked it on. He flinched and adjusted his busted glasses. In the bottom drawer of his desk held Hal's most prized possessions: his anime collection. All of the tapes, though in blank white boxes with only the titles sloppily written on them in marker, were in pristine condition and carefully sorted. All flavors of mecha anime (Hal's personal favorite) were present: The Super Dimension Fortress Macross, Grendizer, Aura Battler Dunbine, and, of course, Mobile Suit Gundam.

He gently plucked the Gundam tape from the top of the stack and closed the drawer. Handling it with care, he pulled it out of its box and slid it into his VCR, hitting the play button. Finally, he turned his TV on, sat in his cushy desk chair, and turned off the light.

Hal's room lit up with the colors of the animation, his eyes quickly acclimating. He made sure to set his TV to a low volume as the theme song started up. He might've fallen asleep during his last viewing of the tape; he didn't know where to start. Might as well be at the beginning. He situated himself in the chair and watched with bated breath as the episode began.

He must have been there for hours. Hal lost himself in that other universe, one where the tints and shades of the landscapes stood out bright and imaginative, and all of the characters' problems seemed to conveniently end in a twenty-minute time frame.

Also, the mechs. They always captured the teen's attention when they showed up on-screen, and his mind got to work analyzing them. Even though their bipedal gaits were on-par with a toddler, and the rest of their actions just as clumsy, he stared in awe. Every hiss and ping of machinery made his heart race. What could it do now? What was going to happen to the beloved cast this time?

Hal heard a soft knock on his door, breaking him out of his trance. He paused the tape and cracked it open.

"Hal? Sweetheart, it's me."

"Oh," The door fully swung open. From the TV light, he saw his stepmother's pale face framed in messy red hair, and her svelte body outfitted in a skimpy nightgown. "H-Hi. I didn't think you would be back…"

"I had a change of plans." she coolly explained. "I just came to say goodnight, and ask a favor."

"A f-favor?"

"Well, I'm just feeling lonely…" Julie stuck out her lip as if she were going to cry. "You'll come and keep your dear old mother company, won't you?"

Hal flushed. "Why do you n-need me to do that?"

Her sadness turned to annoyance. "What's wrong with a mother wanting to spend time with her son?" She peeked past Hal's shoulder and saw his lit TV screen. "But I see you're still watching those silly cartoons."

Her stepson quickly shut off the TV. "I was gonna go to bed. I have ssssschool in the morning." He wrung his hands and gave a meek smile.

"That won't be a problem." She padded down the hall. "Follow me, darling."

This was futile. Julie always got her way. Hal removed the tape from his VCR, put it back, and followed her to his parents' room.


	4. Chapter 4

The Best Is Yet to Come (Chapter 4)

By Friday, Dave had finally acclimated to his alarm clock screaming at him to wake up (not to mention that his twin had fallen back into his habit of ignoring it). He rolled out of bed and performed his morning routine. It was starting to get chilly out, so he added a gray Army sweatshirt to his attire.

George peeked into Dave and Eli's room, fully dressed. "Are you guys ready yet? I really don't want to be late today."

"In a minute, George." Eli slurred. Dave watched his brother pathetically pull on a long sleeve shirt and yawn. "Okay, I'm ready."

After breakfast, they piled into the car, Eli at the wheel. He adjusted the rearview mirror and pulled out of the garage.

"Wait!" Eli stopped the car, then saw the source of the voice running toward his side, a girl with red hair. "Thank you!" she breathed.

"Meryl?" Dave said. "Why did you make us stop?"

"I missed the bus," She placed a hand on her chest and panted. "Will you take me with you? My uncle'll kill me if I'm late."

Eli ogled at her. "Get in, hotness." he blurted. He elbowed Dave in the passenger seat. "Dave, get in the back. You know hot chicks get shotgun."

Dave looked to Meryl. She giggled. "Fine." he sighed, defeated. He joined George in the backseat, and the redhead hopped in.

"I'm Eli, by the way." he drawled.

George reached out his hand from the backseat. "Hi, I'm George. Nice to meet you, Meryl."

"Well, nice to meet you too." She took his hand in a playful way and shook it.

From inside the car, the pale morning sun rose above them at an irritating angle, barely distinguished from the blanched sky. Eli grabbed the pair of aviator sunglasses hanging off the rearview mirror and slipped them on. He caused the female to cover her mouth and snicker when he flipped his hair and grinned at her.

"Dave, did you do the algebra homework last night?" Meryl asked as they got onto the road.

"Yeah. Do you need to copy or something?"

"No, I just want to compare answers. I really need the math credit this year, and I don't want to screw over my grades immediately."

"You failed a class and are in Algebra II?" George asked. "Were you on the honors math track?"

"Not anymore." Meryl huffed. She stared at the evergreen trees dotting the side of the road. "My uncle grounded me for the whole summer after he saw my report card."

Eli scoffed. "Parents can be real a-holes sometimes."

"Tell me about it. He thinks he can order me around like one of his soldiers at the base."

"Your uncle works at a military base?" Dave said. "Our dad works at Richardson."

"Really? He does too!" Meryl smirked and folded her arms. "He might actually approve of me being in contact with other boys, then."

The conversation ceased, and Eli focused on driving. It wasn't a long drive, and he made only a few more turns on the forested roads until he entered the Bartlett parking lot.

Eli parked in a spot close to the front and replaced his sunglasses. "Jeez, that's rare," he muttered. "Okay, everybody out."

"I guess I'll see you guys after my meeting." George waved and joined the stream of other teenagers bounding into the school.

"I have business to take care of as well." Eli shoved his keys in his pocket and sauntered completely behind the building, his body readily obscured by shadows.

Dave jabbed a thumb towards his brother. "You don't need to ask what his 'business' is."

"Way ahead of you." Meryl perked up. "Hey, do you want to walk to class with me?"

"I have to stop at my locker first. Is that okay with you?" Dave swung his backpack over his shoulder.

"I don't mind."

Dave shrugged and walked along, Meryl following close behind.

"Do you have anything to do this weekend?" Meryl asked.

"No, not really." They pushed past the crowd of kids ahead and entered the school.

Dave was drifting away. Meryl placed her hand on his shoulder to stop him. He looked over at her. "Do you want to come over to my house tomorrow?" She bashfully threw her hands behind her back.

"Sure. That could be fun."

The redhead beamed.

* * *

George had been nervous all day. While the normal rigors of his classes had distracted him from it during regular hours, it was now after school, when he had to face the beast of student government head-on.

He shuffled into the sophomore hallway, the bright orange of the walls and lockers almost startling him. He continued on his path until he reached room 107. A laminated sign was hung on the doorknob that read "Student Government Primaries." Though paralyzed by the glamor of it all, George forced himself to open the door.

He was greeted by desks arranged in a circle and the phrase "Welcome to Student Government!" written on the board in frilly penmanship. A female student was depositing papers onto the desks, stopping in front of George when she dropped off her last sheet. "Hello there." Her voice added some awkwardness to her words, like English wasn't her first language.

The male pulled his hands close to his chest. "Hi." He took a step back, flustered.

"You are here for student government, yes?" she asked. She leaned on the desk behind her.

"You're right…" George looked down. Her smart attire of a white ruffled blouse and black skirt intimidated him. She looked so confident and well-put together, her jet black hair tied up into a long and high ponytail to boot.

Her head curiously tilted to the side. "Aw, you look nervous. Are you okay?"

He began to sweat. "Well...um…" He jumped when she put her hand on his shoulder.

"It's okay if you are," she consoled. "Everyone is their first time. You'll get used to it."

George sighed. "Thank you. I think I just needed to hear that."

"My pleasure," She gave a smile that reached her dark brown eyes. George's face grew hotter. "I should have introduced myself. I'm Mei Ling." She held out a dainty hand.

He straightened up. "I'm George Pliskin." The two engaged in a tight shake.

"You have a nice handshake. What grade are you in?"

"I'm only a freshman." he admitted.

"I think that's so brave of you! I didn't have the confidence to try student government until last year."

"Er, well, thank you." His face was full scarlet now.

"Why don't you take a seat?" She pushed herself off the desk. "The meeting will start soon." As she said that, another student walked in, and she closed in to greet them. George sat himself in the desk Mei Ling was leaning on and folded his hands in patient anticipation. He could still feel her hand on his shoulder, the somatic signals fizzing out like a sparking wire.

Students trickled in at a steady pace, and George was surrounded by other sharply dressed students, who appeared to be considerably older and bigger than him. His anxiety returned, albeit much milder this time.

"Hello Mrs. McClain," Mei Ling said to an older woman in a pink dress as she entered. "I handed out the papers like you asked."

"Thank you so much, dear." She hobbled closer to the young girl. "By the way, how is your cousin doing? I completely forgot to ask you before class."

"He hasn't written to us in a while, but I think he's doing alright."

Her face held taut with an abnormal grin. "You haven't been sent an admittance yet, have you?"

"No, not yet. I hope it's this year, though. My GPA is higher than his was when he got accepted."

"...Me too, dearie." Mei Ling politely exited and took a seat next to George.

The students made an effort not to watch as McClain made her way to the front of the desk circle. "Welcome to student government, where your voice can be heard and effect change." Her voice took on a much more bitter tone, cleaving the room's mood in half. Everyone was now wringing their hands or nervously looking away. "We're here to choose the most qualified candidates. Please redirect your attention to the sheets on your desks."

The students examined the papers, which read "Student Primary Debate Instructions" at the top. "For president, we will decide the three candidates by those rules. For anyone who wants to run, you will have a half-hour to prepare a one to two minute speech about your goals as student body president. The other positions will be discussed afterwards. Any questions?"

Reluctantly, George raised his hand. "Um, when will we know who the candidates are?"

"On Monday." Mrs. McClain dryly replied.

The class remained silent. "Get to work, then."

George pulled out a notebook and pencil from his backpack and opened to a fresh page. His thoughts froze; he'd assumed this would come easier.

"Do you need help?" Mei Ling asked. "I'm running for treasurer, so I have some time."

"Well, I am a little stuck…" He slumped over in his seat. "Will I be good enough as a candidate?"

She pondered. "It might help to remember this: 'A bird does not sing because it has an answer. It sings because it has a song.'"

"What does that mean?"

"It means that you don't have to know everything. The bird sings because it has passion, and enjoys what it does. If you have passion, and you care about the students, you will be a good president."

He perked up. "I do have passion. Thank you, Mei Ling."

"My pleasure." she giggled.

George quickly got to work on his speech. The first page was riddled with cross outs, eraser smudges, and other meaningless scribbles, new phrases scrawled into the margins. The final draft on the next page was much cleaner. He just finished writing the last word when McClain called the time.

"Your half-hour's up!" she announced. "Pencils down!" All of the students still working released their writing utensils. "Who wants to go first?"

Wrist aching and emboldened, George again raised his hand. "I'll go." He scuttled to the front of the desks, tightly gripping his notebook. He noticed Mei Ling give him an encouraging smile. He cleared his throat and began.

"We all see it everyday: boredom, apathy, and mismanagement. Why is it that students are so disinterested in their education? Why do most see school as a waste of time, and prefer to mindlessly doodle in their notebooks, or stare out the window and daydream? School is a place that most adults remember with a bad taste in their mouths. They remember hours of meaningless rote work that did nothing to prepare them for their working lives afterwards.

This tedium is only crippling students from future opportunity. Most now associate learning with the pointless memorization of school, their innate curiosity all but extinguished. Individual teachers try to engage and bring back the awe and wonder that it once was, but they are trying to operate in a system in which their hands are tied. Mistakes and assumptions are made, and some are disproportionately affected by the meandering.

Too many students slip through the cracks and traipse through high school without guidance. They are discounted by all of their teachers and counselors, seen as a "lost cause." They are then spit out after a close graduation, aimless and alone. The system has given up on them, and vice versa.

The bright students, on the other hand, rise to the top, attaining perfect grades and various accolades for their performances. They are then shuttled off to universities, where they can gain the qualifications to be employed in professional fields. They are the ones given the attention and resources that the disenfranchised need just as much, if not more.

It's clear what the problem is. So why is nothing done to fix it?

I want to end this. I want to make every student's education a rich and vibrant one. I want to make sure that every young person is given the tools and attention that they need to reach their full potential. Everyone deserves to have a happy and fulfilling life, and that starts with a fair and enlightening education."

The room clapped. Shaky and sweaty, George wobbled back to his seat.

"You did great!" Mei Ling whispered to him.

"Great job," Mrs. McClain moaned. "Who's next?"

"I'll go next, ma'am." A tall boy with white blond hair rose and marched to the front.


	5. Chapter 5

The Best is Yet to Come (Chapter 5)

Homecoming had finally come to Bartlett high school.

Amateur posters announcing the event and colorful streamers littered the hallways. Students were dressed in heavy summer attire, abiding by Monday's spirit week theme. Shiny banners hung from the ceiling advertising the homecoming dance, the taller kids batting the cheap crepe paper away from their faces. The hallways seemed even noisier and more congested. The increased energy didn't seem to affect Dave, though; he was as nonchalant as ever, and still wearing his normal clothes.

He struggled to his locker and fiddled with it, mildly frustrated that the combination lock wasn't on its usual setting. It threw off his muscle memory. After a few tries, he popped it open. Something fell out and hit his foot. He stooped over and picked up the offending object, a tube of sparkly pink lip gloss. "What the-?"

He heard frantic footsteps behind him. "I knew I left it in there!" Meryl snaked her hand over Dave's shoulder and plucked the lip gloss.

"Why was it even in there to begin with?"

"In case something happened to my other one." She nonchalantly answered. "I left it at home, so this is my backup."

"How did you even get into my locker?"

"Your brother told me the combination."

Dave sighed. "Figures. Anyway, I have to go to English." Dave grabbed a notebook from the bottom of his locker and slammed it shut. "Don't put anymore makeup in my locker, okay?"

"Yes, sir." she mocked. "Oh, wait!"

Dave stopped in his tracks. "Yeah?"

Meryl bit her lip. "Have you thought about who you're gonna take to homecoming?"

"I didn't even plan on going, to be honest."

Her face fell. "Alright then. Just asking." She turned and walked away.

Dave didn't give her attitude much of a second thought. He was more concerned about getting away from the obnoxious jeering and chanting of his surroundings (not to mention arriving on time).

He entered class and plopped down in his seat without pause. His brother didn't show up; no surprise there. The bell rang immediately after.

Mr. Palmer began with a vocabulary review. A few minutes into discussing the meaning of the word _gloaming_ , Eli waltzed in, decked out in a California T-shirt.

"Eli, this is the third time you've been late!" the teacher scolded.

"I'm sorry Mr. Palmer. Earth science is just so much fun!"

How he could say that with a straight face, Dave didn't know.

"Well, I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to give you a detention." He returned his attention to the board. "See me after class."

"Fine." Eli sank into his desk.

Mr. Palmer continued his lesson. Dave was trying to take notes, but Eli kept nudging him.

"What is it, Eli?" Dave said.

"Did you find a date for homecoming yet?"

"Can't we talk about this later?" His chittering led to a stray mark on his paper. He erased it and dusted off the shavings. "I don't want to get detention like you."

"Whatever you say, Point Dexter." He flippantly waved his hand, then stared at the board.

* * *

Dave made a habit of sitting with Hal at lunch. The kid seemed lonely, and he didn't mesh well with Eli's crowd, not to mention any other group. The action flustered the other, to be frank.

In fact, Hal had found himself involved with the brunette often. Granted, he was the only person to really give him the time of day outside of his sister, but it felt like something more than that. They gravitated toward each other in most areas, and Hal flinched and stuttered at each encounter.

He could get used to this, though. This warm and bright feeling when they were together. The sensation that twisted his organs into knots and bricked all coherent thought processes.

"Damn," Dave said, rifling through his backpack. "I think I left my algebra book at Meryl's house."

"M-Meryl?" Hal twiddled his fingers. "Y-You two are friends?"

"Kinda, yeah." The other male pulled out his lunch. "I mean, I only went over to her house once. It seems like she really wants to be around me, though."

Hal's heart skipped a beat. "Really?"

"Mmhmm." Dave fished his sandwich from its plastic bag. "I haven't seen that kind of attention from a woman in a while."

"I-In a while?" Hal nervously inquired. He could imagine it: a handsome Dave being swamped in the hallways by doting females of all kinds. Some were just lusting, while others desired a real relationship. "W-What's _that_ supposed to m-mean?" His breathing picked up, and he was shaking. He pushed his glasses up his nose to occupy his trembling hands.

"Well," Damn. _That was awkward._ "I mean, I wasn't a stud or anything, but…" He buried his hand in his hair and turned colors.

The smaller boy dropped his gaze to the table. "Ah, I'm s-sorry! I didn't want to make things awkward!" he choked out. It was his turn to flush now.

"Don't worry about it." Dave took a bite of his sandwich and swallowed. "I didn't mean to sound so full of myself…"

They both averted each others' gazes. The other noise in the lunchroom kept the moment from being too awkward, fortunately.

Unbeknownst to Dave, a girl with flowing blonde hair was marching toward him, who's irritated chirp snapped him out of his thoughts. Hal slightly ducked in her prescence.

"Do you have money?" she demanded. Her Kurdish accent was as thick as molasses.

"What?" Dave blurted, more out of surprise than disbelief.

"Eli said you have money. I need lunch money."

"I don't-" Dave blinked. "Who are you? And what did Eli say about me?"

Eli sauntered over, draping an arm on the blonde's shoulders. "What's the holdup here?"

"Who is this, Eli?"

Hal couldn't watch his friend flounder any more. "Um, Dave, she's Naza."

"Naza?" Eli questioned. He looked to his female companion. "You told me to just call you 'Wolf.'"

Naza slipped out of Eli's arms and folded her own. "Do not call me that. Stick to the name I told you." She glared at Dave. "I still need my money."

Dave opened his mouth to speak, but immediately shut it in favor of grabbing his brother's wrist. "Eli, can we talk for a second?"

"...Sure?"

Dave yanked him towards an empty table in the back. "What the hell is this about?"

"Okay, she said that she would go to homecoming with me if I paid for everything for her this week, and I left my wallet at home-"

"So you say that I'll foot the bill?"

"Yes?" Eli sheepishly grinned. "I mean, look at her. She's a pretty sweet deal."

Dave (objectively, of course) appraised her perfectly sloping hips and rather voluptuous breasts, all thinly veiled in a sepia toned trench coat. How she got that past the dress code was a mystery. "I guess…"

"So, could you do it just this one time? I'll pay you back, I promise."

The brunette shrugged. "Fine. Because you're my brother." He traipsed back over to "Wolf" and fished out his wallet from his pocket. "How much do you need? Will ten dollars be enough?"

"He promised me twenty."

Eli nervously chuckled, and Dave wanted to slam his head into a wall. He produced a twenty and shoved it into Naza's hand. She stuffed it down her coat and walked away.

"Uh, thanks, buddy." Eli gave his twin a stiff slap on the shoulder.

"Just get outta here." He obeyed and followed his date.

Dave returned to his seat with a huff. Hal rested a hand on his chest, taking deep, yet frantic breaths.

"Hal, are you okay?"

 _In- one, two, three. Out- one, two, three. In-one, two-_ "Huh?" Hal's breath hitched. "Uh, yeah. I'm fine." He felt his heart hammer against his sternum again. _Do what Mr. Smith said. In- one, two, three. Out- one, two, three._

Dave's pity won out. He gave the ailing teen some space and ate his lunch in peace.

* * *

George found the treasurer ballet box at last. It looked like a cheap shoebox outfitted with gold construction paper to make it look snazzier, but that was ultimately irrelevant. What mattered were the votes inside.

There was a stack of small slips of paper and a pen next to the box. George took one, scribbled a name, and pushed it in. He put the pen back down and, out of the corner of his eye, saw familiar jet black hair coming from the adjacent hallway.

"Mei Ling?" He peered around the corner and saw her wearing a lavender dress with a fake flower in her hair. He suddenly felt stupid in his outfit, an orange Hawaiian shirt (he got it when he first moved to California at ten; he was surprised it still fit).

"Oh, hi George." she smiled.

"You look pretty-" He clasped a hand over his mouth. "I mean-hello."

Mei Ling chuckled. "Thank you. You're a sweet boy." She looked up at one of the banners hanging from the ceiling. "I came to check on this banner. I think that's the one I put up because it looks so crooked."

George followed her line of sight. "It looks okay to me."

She cocked her head. "On a second look, I guess it does. My eyes aren't the best."

"Do you wear contacts?"

"Yeah. I'm getting new ones in a few days, too."

"Just in time for homecoming, I guess."

She brushed a loose strand of hair from her face. "Are you going?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "Probably not. I don't have anyone to go with."

"Why don't you come with me?" George perked up. "My friends and I were planning on going as a group anyway."

"Really? Are you sure?" He was starting to fidget with his fingers, so he stuffed them into the pockets of his tacky cargo shorts.

"Of course!" Mei Ling placed a hand on his shoulder. "They won't mind, and I don't want anyone to miss out on homecoming because they have no one to go with."

"Then, of course!" George beamed. "Thank you so much!"

"It's nothing." She pushed up her sleeve to reveal a watch. "I wish I could stay and talk more, but I need to get home. They're sending out the letters today."

"Letters?"

"Oh, right, you're a transfer. No one told you, did they?"

"About what…?" George said slowly.

"A prestigious boarding school sends out letters of acceptance at this time of year. Usually, the letters are sent to the students with the highest grades and awards."

"Are you hoping that you got one?"

"Yeah. My cousin did with the same grades as me, so I'm hoping this is the year!" Mei Ling absentmindedly brushed off the skirt of her dress. "You might get one too. I've heard of freshman who've been sent them."

"Um, maybe…" Even though it was only about a month into the school year, George had been studying hard, diligently taking notes and keeping an eye on the calendar for any tests and extra credit opportunities. His hand drifted to the back of his head. "My brothers are probably waiting for me. I don't want to keep them." He scurried away.


	6. Chapter 6

The Best is Yet to Come (Chapter 6)

The next day in homecoming week came.

The spirit theme was neon, meaning students bore iridescent clothing and attached glow bracelets to as much of their bodies as possible. Dave pondered the point of this theme, as it was too bright in the school for the plastic bands to show off too much color.

He opened his locker (luckily, there were no cosmetics to be found) to fetch his algebra notebook. He kneeled down to reach it, but stopped and turned around when he felt a tap on his shoulder.

"Dave, do you know where room 122 is?" The source was George, his forearms surrounded by glow bracelets that faintly shone. They jiggled as he wrung his hands and kneaded his fingers.

"Yeah, it's just down the hall," Dave grabbed his notebook and stood up. "What are you doing over here?"

"The results for the student government primaries got delayed. They're supposed to be posted there."

Dave analyzed George's frantic demeanor. "Well, good luck with that." He grinned, feeling obligated to be the "good big brother." "I'm rooting for ya."

"Thanks, Dave," George sighed. Wanting to return the kindness, he examined the other's limbs for a moment. "Why don't you have any glow bracelets? There are a lot of people giving them away."

"I must've just passed them up…" Meaning that he blatantly ignored anyone with an outstretched hand and shoved on.

"Then here," He slid off a purple band and held it out. "Take one of mine. You deserve to have some fun too."

Dave almost told him to take it back, but didn't want to hurt his brother's feelings. He was already ahead in the "good big sibling" department. He did look adamant, too. "Uh, thanks." He accepted the bracelet and wrestled it onto his much bigger wrist.

"Well, I have to go now. I don't want to be late for class." He gripped the straps of his backpack and started walking. "See you after school!"

"See ya," Dave halfheartedly waved. He closed his locker and began his own journey through the clogged halls to algebra class.

* * *

George, due to his smaller freshman stature, was swamped by the incoming seniors. However, he used the size difference to his advantage and weaved around the taller bodies to room 122.

On the wall beside the doorway, a simple piece of paper was taped up, holding the names of the selected candidates.

He strayed from the group for a moment. "This is it, George. Remember, what matters is that you were passionate and that you tried your best." He stared at the other students, willing his legs to move. Under the threat of being in the way of passing teenagers behind him, he moved forward.

George almost had to stand on the tips of his toes to see above the other students huddled around it. They began to disperse, either in elation or disappointment. He forged his way to the front and peeked at the list.

 _Class of 1992 Student Government Primary Candidates_

 _All chosen students are advised to meet with Mrs. McClain on Thursday, September 17 at 2:00pm to prepare for their campaign._

 _Student Body President_

 _Richard Johnson_

 _Adam Ocelot_

 _George Pliskin_

George stopped reading there. He could hardly believe his luck; he felt his heart race in excitement. Though he would have liked to admire his name on the list longer, the urgent shoving of bigger students pushed him out back into the hallway.

He suddenly recalled the long trip back to the freshman hallway. He quickened his pace out of both euphoria and slight worry.

In his fervor, campaign ideas flew through his head: posters, meetups, speeches. He was thrilled to prepare all of them.

"I'm going to need some supplies," he muttered. "Maybe Dave or Eli can take me to the craft store, I need poster board-" He unknowingly smacked into another student. Something plastic clattered to the ground. "Oh, I'm so sorry!"

"Don't worry about it," the other groaned. He squinted and rubbed his eyes. "Ugh, I can't see anything…"

George's guilt intensified. He pulled the student to the side of the hallway (to prevent him from getting trampled in his vulnerable state). "Did I make you drop your glasses?"

"Y-Yeah," He threw off his backpack and kneeled, palming the ground.

"Let me help you find them," George mimicked them and surveyed the floor, taking tiny and careful steps. To someone with normal vision, they stuck out like a sore thumb, gleaming under the fluorescent lights. He walked out and scooped them up.

"Here," George offered the glasses. "We're lucky no one stepped on them." Though it didn't seem like that would matter; the glasses were taped together at the middle; they might have broken apart regardless.

"Thank you so much!" He snatched the spectacles and returned them to his face. When he fully rose up, George noticed that he maintained his squirrelly posture, not just when he couldn't see.

"Why are your glasses busted like that?" George asked. "I thought I broke them, but they were taped together beforehand…"

"No, it wasn't you…" He looked away, his face bright red. "Uh, sssss-" He snorted a breath. "S-Someone b-broke them."

"Who?"

 _Why was this kid so intent on knowing?_ Though, he had an innocent air to him, like a curious child asking where babies came from. "Well, u-um,"

The blond interpreted his submissive demeanor. "Was it a bully?" he plainly said.

His mouth felt cemented shut. He resorted to communicating with a slight nod.

"That's horrible! Nobody deserves to be treated like that!" The other was startled by his intensity. "Have you told anyone?"

"Uh, no one did anything…"

Anger rose in George's chest. "I promise, if I become student body president, I'll put a stop to situations like this!" He didn't intend for it to come off as a campaign advertisement; the edit to his platform just came about. He stuck out his hand. "George Pliskin."

"P-Pliskin? Do you have a brother named David?"

"I do." he answered. "Wait, are you his friend, Hal Emmerich?"

He plunged his hand onto his hair. "I didn't know he told his brothers about me…"

"Well, nice to finally meet you!" He took Hal's hand and shook it. "Do you want a glow bracelet?"

"Huh?"

"You're not wearing any," George slipped off another one, a green band this time. "Consider it an apology for making you lose your glasses."

Hal accepted the bracelet. "Uh, it's no problem. Thank you, though." He toyed with the fluorescent ornament. "Y-You're running for student body president?"

"That's right," George answered. "I really have to thank you though, Hal. You helped me see how much of a problem bullying is."

"R-Really?"

"Yeah," George smiled and glanced up at the hallway clock. "I wish I could talk longer, but I have to get back to the freshman hallway." He stepped past Hal. "I'll see you later!"

"Goodbye," Hal chuckled.

* * *

Dave had been eyeing George throughout all of dinner. While he did pay a good deal of attention to his steak (his weights class had kicked his metabolism back up), his younger brother looked awfully giddy, and he had his suspicions on the reason.

Not that he cared to voice them over the tales of his twin's antics.

"And that's how I got to skip gym class!" Eli proudly finished.

"That was remarkable, how you found a dead rat in that young lady's locker." Jack groped for the salt.

"I just hope she's okay," Eva remarked. She slid her husband the salt shaker. "That poor girl…"

When silence befell the table, George jumped at the opportunity. "I'm in the running for student body president!"

Jack dropped his fork. "Way to go, son!" Dave noted the crow's feet grazing the edges of his eyes, something that only happened when someone his age was genuinely happy.

"I'm so proud of you, sweetheart!" Eva embraced her son with a hug and a kiss.

"Good for you George," Eli lauded.

 _There it is,_ Dave thought. Though he didn't say anything, George knew he had his approval.

"Well, I couldn't have done it without everyone's support," George blushed. "Especially Mei Ling…"

"That girl you're taking to homecoming?" Jack asked.

"Um, she's taking me. With her friends."

Eva glanced at Jack. "Well, what matters is that you're going, and you're- going to have fun." she concluded.

"I got a date to homecoming too," Eli announced, scraping at his steak with his fork and knife.

"You mean the one _I_ paid for?" Dave speared a lettuce leaf and crouton with a crunch.

"That was one day, Dave!"

"One day too many, if you ask me."

"Er, Eli," Jack interrupted. "She's not, ah, a 'woman of the night,' is she?"

"What?"

Jack delicately placed his silverware on the rim of his plate. "You know, you said you paid for her to date you so…"

"Oh, you mean a hooker?" Eli said, with all of the grace and tact of a novice skateboarder on their first ride. Eva and George gasped, while Dave buried his face in his hands. His shoulders shuddered in laughter, though. "Well, she's not!"

"I would reconsider that," Dave wiped his face and sighed.

"You're one to talk, Dave. At least I have a date!"

"Dave, you're not taking any girl to homecoming?" Eva said.

"Well, no," he choked out, flustered by the shift in attention. "I just didn't find anyone."

Jack fixed a gaze so intense at Dave that it sent a chill down his spine. He knew a major lecture was coming next. "David, I've never seen you romantically involved with any girl. You're almost an adult, and you still shy away from women."

He repeated the same thing he always did during these conversations: "Dad, I told you, I just haven't found anyone I was interested in."

"I think you're making excuses, son." Jack retrieved the white cloth napkin on his lap and threw it on top of his plate. "I think it's time your old man taught you how to impress a lady."

"Jack, is that really necessary?" Eva interjected. "Isn't it his business if he dates anyone?"

"Eva, he has to learn how to court a woman. If he isn't confident enough now, how will he ever hope to start a family?"

Eva's lips pressed into a tight line. "I suppose this is a matter a boy needs his father for."

Eli's cackling was enough foreshadowing of the awkwardness to come.

* * *

"Now, Dave," Jack began. "I'm going to show you some tricks that will make you irresistible to a woman."

Him and his son were sitting on the living room couch, facing each other. Rather than feeling small and overpowered (as Dave often did when facing punishment from his father), he felt confused. He had no problem talking to girls; he just was never romantically interested in any of them. He failed to relate to his other male peers, in which the maelstrom of puberty had seemingly overtaken any rational thought and only left behind slobbering idiots desperate to stick their genitalia into anything with breasts and a higher pitched voice.

"When you first meet her, you have to present yourself effectively," the older man said. "You have to make yourself look nice. Women like a man who looks strong and put together."

"Look nice, got it," a blasé Dave replied.

Jack huffed, but continued. "When you talk to her, you have to sound strong and confident. A decent man will protect and take care of his woman, and your voice has to reflect that."

"What do I say to her when I ask her out?" Dave asked, desperate to move things along.

"First, compliment her appearance. Right when you've made her feel good about herself, take her hand and ask her out." Jack leaned back. "That's the strategy the won over your mother."

Dave couldn't help but ponder the superficiality of his parents' relationship now. "If you say so, Dad."

"If you've done everything right, she'll melt in your arms."

"What do I do when I'm on a date with her?"

"Well, as the man, you have to treat her with respect. You have to hold open doors for her, give her your jacket if she gets cold, and pull out chairs for her to sit in."

Jack paused. "However, as the man, you must also be the leader. Women are finicky, and do not always make good decisions. You must order for her at restaurants, and even decide where the date takes place. A woman worth your time will respect your wishes and follow them."

Dave sighed. "That sounds good, Dad."

Dave wasn't sure if he believed anything his father said, but he thought it might be time for a change of pace. And he knew exactly who to ask.


	7. Chapter 7

The Best is Yet to Come (Chapter 7)

Needless to say, Dave didn't get much sleep last night.

It wasn't a restless fight with insomnia that left him more worn out than when he went to bed; he was just _thinking._ Every time he would nestle into his thick blankets further and close his eyes, his internal monologue flared up again. It was more of a distraction from sleep than anything.

He thought about what his dad had said to him. Despite his blatant inattention, his words were sinking in. It was true; he actually hadn't had a girlfriend before. He was starting to feel pathetic in comparison; his twin seemed to be hooking up with different women every weekend, and even the youngest got to go to homecoming with a female.

He thought, maybe it was time to come out of his shell. He realized how childish his views on romance were; two people lock their eyes together, then all of a sudden decide they like each other and live happily ever after. Love never happens at first sight; you have to cultivate it, dig deep into a person to experience real attraction towards them. You couldn't just wait to stumble upon a meaningful relationship.

He contemplated these musings while he searched his closet for a nicer outfit.

"What are you doing?" Eli asked, wrapping a black belt around his waist.

Dave flicked on the closet light. "I want something warmer."

"Jeez, you _are_ sensitive to the cold."

Dave weakly chuckled. He waited until his brother left the room, then hastily grabbed a black satin button-up and dress pants. Nicer than usual, but nothing overly fancy. He threw them on, and then his Army sweatshirt over everything.

* * *

As soon as Dave entered the school, he was kicking himself. Today's spirit theme was to dress fancy, meaning the hallways were mosaics of black and white, with the occasional brown mixed in. If he had said that the theme was the reasoning for his different clothing, no one would have been suspicious.

He approached his locker and opened it. He slowly slid his backpack off of his shoulders and hung it on one of the hooks inside. He stared at it for longer than he should have, trying to prolong the inevitable. Eventually, he sighed, pulled off his sweatshirt, and hung that up too. His nerves overheated him, anyway.

He scanned the area for the person he came here for. He found her talking to someone else, wearing a black dress and a necklace that glimmered rainbow under the school's lights.

He staked out their conversation, waiting for a private moment. When the friend finally left, he made his move, attempting to stride up with confidence.

Dave tapped her on the shoulder. "Hello, Meryl…" He felt like a clumsy oaf standing there.

Meryl turned around. "Oh! Hi, Dave." She clasped her hands together, fingernails perfectly polished. "You look nice."

"Uh, thank you." He racked his brain for what his father said. "You...look nice too."

"Thank you." she smiled.

 _Oh God, could this get any dorkier?_ He decided to cut to the chase. "Um, are you going to homecoming with anyone?"

Meryl's face contorted into an unreadable expression. "I'm not, actually," Her blue eyes shifted. "Why do you say that?"

His face flushed. "I...want…to know-" he sputtered. "Do you want to go to homecoming with me?"

The female blushed as red as her hair. "Well, I-I'd love to!"

Dave almost flinched when she took his hand. Such a soft and fragile lump of skin and sinew felt out of place in his own. He tried his best to gingerly fold his fingers within her's. "Uh, thank you."

Meryl pulled him to her locker just behind them. Still holding Dave's hand, she spun her combination and opened her locker. "As my date, you have to carry my books to class." she snickered with a cutesy bat of her eyelashes. "Think you can handle that, tough guy?"

 _Really?_ Is this what romance entailed? Well, she did take his hand and flirt. _It's a start,_ he thought.

"Sure." He reached on to the top shelf and grabbed a textbook (which happened to be her algebra book). From his distance, he couldn't comfortably coax the book out. "Um, Meryl, you need to let go."

"Of what?" She played dumb, averted her gaze to the ceiling and dropped their entwined fingers out of sight.

"My hand." he dryly said. "I need both my arms to get your books." He was supposed to be in control, right?

"Oh, fine!" She let go of his hand in a semi-serious huff. "If you insist." Meryl couldn't repress a smile.

Dave shrugged off her reaction and collected her things. He slammed her locker shut and began his escort. On the way though, he saw red, white, and blue pieces of paper sticking out from the slits of the surrounding lockers. He noted them and continued, not giving them any added significance.

Not until a white blond boy marched up to him and deposited a similar slip onto his pile of books.

"George?" Dave asked. He repositioned the books to get a closer look. "What are you doing?"

"Hello! My name is George Pliskin, and I'm really counting on your support in the upcoming election! Nice to meet you!" He yanked out Dave's hand from under the books and shook it in a rehearsed manner.

He then scuttled away to Meryl, performing the same song and dance.

The brunette almost dropped the supplies; he balanced them on his knee and regained his grip. "Did he even notice it was me?"

"I don't think so," Meryl said. "I don't think I've seen anyone that focused in my entire life."

"That's because you hang out with people like Eli."

"You're not being a very good date." Meryl teased.

Of course. He had to be chivalrous to seal the deal. "Alright. Let's just get to class before anything else weird happens."

* * *

Hal, after what felt like an eternity staring at his computer screen, finally gave in and slumped over in his chair.

It hadn't been a good day so far; his mother had decided that last night was to be a bed sharing night, leaving him wide awake and petrified with her arms wrapped around his body and her bosom shoved into his face. He stumbled into school, shaky and drowsy, when he rounded a corner and witnessed Dave ask Meryl to homecoming. And her say yes, and take his hand.

That snapped him awake immediately. Something stirred in the pit of his stomach, hot and toxic. His body jittered and he ran away (to say the least), his heart fluttering into his throat.

Hal had an inkling of why this bothered him so much, though he didn't want to admit it. He felt possessive of Dave. As unfair as that was, he saw how he never made an effort to really talk to anyone else. For Hal, that translated into exclusive attention from another male his age, something he'd never received in healthy doses before. He convinced himself that his reaction was a byproduct of extreme isolation and loneliness. He should be happy that Dave found a date, and support him all the way.

However, that didn't placate his inner turmoil. While it was more contained, like a lid on a boiling pot, it still bubbled under the surface. He couldn't help but twitch with jealousy when he recalled Meryl grabbing his friend's hand. He knew how floozy the redhead was; he was around all four years of high school to see her bat her mascara laden eyelashes and wiggle her behind to get all of the teenage boys in the vicinity drooling. One of them would be the boyfriend of the week, with all of its perks, then dumped as soon as the slightest inconvenience popped up.

Sure, Hal had to admit that she _was_ attractive, physically. He was not immune to the sexual flare ups of adolescence. Her lack of commitment and excessive promiscuity turned him off, however. Not that she would ever hook up with anyone like him.

He rose out of his pouting at a shake of his shoulder. "Hal, is everything alright?" Mr. Smith asked. "You've just been staring at your screen for five minutes now.

"Huh?" Hal timidly looked up at his teacher. _He was watching?_ "Uh, n-no! E-Everything's fffffine!" he blurted, adjusting his glasses. He fixed his gaze onto his computer screen.

The man above him grimaced. "If you insist." Mr. Smith resumed his stroll between computers, assisting any students with their hands raised.

Hal glanced up at the clock; only ten minutes left in class. He could survive that long. He actually relaxed a little bit when he focused on his work.

A minute from the bell ringing, students were shutting down their computers and gathering their notes. When they hovered around the door, Hal claimed a spot around the outer shell. He drifted to Mr. Smith's desk, where the teacher sat toying with his own computer.

The bell rang with a low hum. "Have a good day, everyone."

Hal didn't move with the other students. "M-Mr. Smith?"

"Yes, Hal?" He scooted out from his desk to give the student his full attention.

He gripped his elbow. "I-Is it okay if we t-talk? Y-Your grading period is still second, right?"

"Of course. What's on your mind?" He suspected that this would happen; the assignment was relatively easy for an average student, let alone one as gifted in programming as Hal. His inaction in class must have had emotional roots.

"I, um-" Hal bit his lip. "You know David Pliskin?"

"That boy that pulled you out of your locker on the first day?"

"Yeah," He awkwardly pulled up a nearby office chair and sank down into it. "We've actually been hanging out more lately. Well, I guess just sitting at the same table during lunch…"

"I'm glad you two hit it off," Mr. Smith thoughtfully said. "Are you worried about something in the relationship?"

Hal's face blanched. "I mean, uh, h-he, um-" He cut off his dithering with a sharp inhale. "He...asked...a girl...to homecoming." His upper body somewhat lolled back in the chair.

Mr. Smith raised an eyebrow. "I'm sorry, but I'm not seeing the problem."

The color returned to the nervous student's face, quite vibrantly. "I don't either," He rubbed his burning face with the heels of his hands. "I'm jealous, and I don't know why…"

"Jealous? Did you possibly realize you had feelings for the girl he asked out?"

"No…" Hal whimpered. "I don't like Me- _her_ in that way… I think I'm jealous of Dave." He buried his hand into his hair. "O-of me not being with him…"

Mr. Smith sighed in pity. He knew (very intimately) of the boy's loneliness and social anxiety, being forced to witness it from his inception at the school. Being the only computer programming teacher, Hal frequented Mr. Smith's classes, where he got to examine his distress in its full glory. He stayed hunched over at his computer, trying to appear as small as a mouse, out of sight. However, he usually finished his work early, without flaws.

Other students noticed his genius and asked for his help on occasion; when he'd spit out explanations they weren't entirely familiar with, and stammer immensely throughout, he would either be dismissed out of confusion, or laughed at. The teacher put a stop to any torment of his students, but he found himself needing to protect Hal the most. He knew better than anyone how vulnerable he already was, without any companions; _someone_ had to do it, especially for someone as talented as him.

"I-It's just, I think-"

"That he's your first real friend?" Mr. Smith finished. "And that you're afraid you'll lose him if he starts dating?"

Hal almost wrapped his arms around himself, but retracted them. He didn't want to seem any more childish and helpless than he already did. "Y-...Yeah."

"Well, don't beat yourself up over it, Hal. I'd say, in your case, it's perfectly normal to feel that way."

"That's good, I guess. But how do I fix it?"

The innocence of the question struck Mr. Smith. "I don't think you can just 'fix' feelings, Hal. It takes time to process them."

Hal dropped his gaze down. "I just need time?"

"I mean, it might also help to talk to Dave."

"I-I can't do that!" Hal cried. "W-What iffff he th-thinks I'm too clingy?"

"If he's really your friend, he'll care enough to take your concerns seriously."

A weight settled in Hal's chest. The situation felt dire now. "I'm just going to have to be honest with him."

Mr. Smith rapped his fingers on his desk. "Are you going to be alright?"

"Um, yes." He sniffled and wiped his face. "I appreciate your honesty. I should probably get to class…" He gathered his things and stood up, replacing the chair.

"Good luck, Hal."


	8. Chapter 8

The Best is Yet to Come (Chapter 8)

David entered the lunchroom, sat in his usual spot, and took out his lunch before he noticed that the chair in front of him was empty.

It was awkward, to say the least. Even though random commotion blanketed the cafeteria, it felt like a pervasive dome of silence stretched around his area. He just stared at the empty spot where his friend should have been and ate slowly. Even though Hal didn't have the easiest time at school (to put it euphemistically), he always managed to show up all day, every day. The lack of his scrawny form and cracking pubescent voice was a little jarring.

Dave scanned the lunchroom, desperate for anything else to look at. He found Eli's golden blond hair at the table across the room from him, hunched over in conversation. His date was next to him, his arm draped around her shoulders. Little else interested him, besides the student made posters for clubs and homecoming.

A typical teenage drama began to unfold in his mind: embarrassment over not having friends. He knew it was petty and inconsequential in the end, and most of the time, that was adequate consolation. However, it was possibly the unfamiliarity of the situation, or the fact his brother's friend group was teasingly waved in front of him, or the slight worry clamped in his chest, that made him give in and attempt to join the table.

Dave waltzed up and tapped his brother on the shoulder. "Eli, I'm sitting with you." he stated, sounding defeated. He knew his twin wouldn't fight him on that, though.

"Fine by me," He removed his arm from "Wolf's" shoulder to gesture to an empty table. "Take a chair from there."

Dave did as instructed and sat down. He noticed that Drebin and Meryl were also at the table.

"It's nice to see you here, Dave." Meryl puckered her lips and traced circles on the table with her finger, all while staring at him with a dreamy gaze.

"Yeah, what does bring a guy like you here?" Drebin asked, snapping open a can of soda with a hissing pop. "Where's Hal?"

"That's the thing, I didn't see him today."

"Have you checked all of the lockers?" Naza added. "I know he hides in the janitor's closet too."

"Really?"

"Yeah, everyone knows that." Eli scoffed. He was always good at nestling himself into the grapevine, no matter how many times his family moved, or where.

"He usually comes out by now, right?"

"Man, I don't know _what_ that kid's up to half the time," Drebin sipped his pop. "And I get the scoop on everything that's happening in this school."

"Everything?" Dave inquired. "Then do you know why the school won't do anything about his bullies?"

"My sources tell me bureaucratic incompetence, but some tinfoil hats think there's something more devious going on behind the scenes."

Dave raised an eyebrow. "'Behind the scenes?'"

Drebin lazily threw his arms back. "I don't know, man. There's every story under the sun: a missing budget, human experimentation, you name it. It all sounds like paranoid bullshit to me, though."

"Really…" He supposed desperate enough high schoolers would come up with any wild fantasy to justify their hatred of the institution.

Starved for attention, Meryl piped up. "Hey, Dave, what are you gonna wear to homecoming?"

The brunette paused. "I don't know, maybe a tux?"

"I bet you'd look good in that."

Eli chuckled at her comment. "Dave, I have a hard time imagining you in anything else besides that stupid Army sweatshirt."

"Oh, shut up." He playfully slapped his brother's arm off of Naza, who didn't seem to mind.

"Uh, anyway," Eli placed his arms onto the table. "Drebin, do you have those _things…?_ "

The other male pondered for a second. After a moment, he said "I see. I got you, buddy." He discreetly reached into his jacket, pulled out a folded piece of paper, and passed it to Meryl under the table, who passed it to Eli.

The blond peeked inside of the paper, smiled to himself, and pocketed it. "You're a lifesaver, man."

"No problem."

"Should I even ask what that is?" Dave said.

"Do you want to?" Eli retorted.

Dave eyed Drebin, who only shrugged his shoulders and played with his can. Meryl and "Wolf" giggled. "I guess I'll find out soon enough."

The group laughed, then dropped back into idle conversation. Dave mostly just observed, intently listening to their gossip about who was dating who, who backstabbed who, and who was cheating. He never cared for such banality before, but he was actually becoming engrossed in a story about two girls who had a nasty falling-out last week when he heard a strained whimper.

"The man of the hour's finally here!" Drebin announced.

"What?" Dave turned around and saw Hal standing over him, his usual anxious demeanor more pronounced. "Oh, there you are!"

The group laughed again, like they were in a sitcom. Hal fiddled with the collar of his plaid shirt and wheezed along with them. "Uh, D-Dave, c-can we t-talk?"

"What's up?"

He gripped the scrap of fabric harder. "I-I mmmmean, i-in private…"

It clicked in Dave's head. When Eli tried to stifle a giggle, his brother silenced it with a hard glare. The others at the table followed suit. "Yeah, no problem."

* * *

Hal's thoughts froze in the few steps back to their table. In all honesty, he didn't see himself making it this far.

While he was somewhat proud of his willingness to work things out immediately, he almost turned tail when he saw Dave sitting with the popular kids. Granted, one of them was his twin, but confronting that clan felt the same as a lone rabbit trying to challenge a pride of lions. Even when it was just them, he cowered in the shadow of the much bulkier male. It was imbedded as instinct into his psyche at this point, from three years of past torment and abuse.

He knew he had no reason to fear Dave, though. They were friends, and Hal had never seen him become violent, or even show anger towards anyone. Most insults or unwanted jabs he either ignored or rebutted with a sarcastic comment. It all seemed to roll like water off of his back.

He took a deep breath and began. "Dave, I have something I need to tell you…"

"What is it? What's the big secret?"

"Well, you know when you asked out Meryl to homecoming?"

Dave balked. "How'd you know about that? I never told you!"

Hal squeaked. His courage melted away like snow in spring. "I-I, um, ah-" He felt his throat constrict, and lightheadedness crawled into his skull.

"Woah, okay," Dave pulled out the chair closest to his friend and sat him down. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to get you riled up. I was just surprised."

Hal desperately gulped down air at first, but soon relaxed into controlled breaths. "I saw you two this morning…" he gasped. He felt his eyelids drooping, and he stifled a yawn.

"Okay, what about it?"

The exhaustion actually soothed his nerves enough to somewhat smoothly deliver his answer. "I...got jealous." He dropped his gaze to his lap. "You don't think I'm too clingy, do you?"

"Uhhhh…" Dave was vaguely aware that he must have looked like an utter buffoon with his response, but the teen was genuinely baffled. Hal was _jealous?_ He wasn't pining for Meryl, was he? " _Jealous?_ Of Meryl?"

"No…" Hal sighed. "I'm afraid that you'll leave me if you and Meryl-" He sniffled. "Get serious."

"I don't know if that's going to happen…" He was starting to get uncomfortable now. He had to find some kind of consolation to end this. "But, if me and Meryl do start dating after homecoming, we won't stop being friends."

Hal pulled his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them. "Y-Yeah. I should've known that…"

Pity flooded Dave's body like a broken pipe spewing water. The poor kid got his ass kicked almost every day, with no one to help him up before. It was no mystery why Hal was alarmed. That fact, along with seeing him curled up into an anxious ball prompted the brunette's offer. "Hey, do you want to come over to my house after school? I'll take you, if you need me to."

"R-Really?" Hal perked up. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been invited over to someone's house. "I-I'd love to-" He remembered his little sister. "B-But, I need to go home f-first. To drop off my backpack."

"Sure, that's fine. Your house isn't far from here, is it?"

"No, not at all!"

The bell buzzed. "Well, I'll meet you out front after school." He scooped up his things. "Sound good?"

"Y-Yes!" Hal uncoiled himself from the chair and followed Dave out of the lunchroom.

* * *

"Eli, we're gonna have another passenger today." Dave said.

"Really? Who?" He crossed his arms and placed one foot against the wall he was leaning on.

"Hal. He's coming over to our house." Dave had a retort loaded in his brain for his brother's inevitable mocking.

However, he simply pulled the car keys out of his pocket. "Fine by me. Mom probably won't mind, but you better hope Dad's okay with it."

No sense in looking a gift horse in the mouth. "I'll cross my fingers, then."

The two sat in silence for a few minutes until Hal showed up, desperately clutching the straps of his backpack. "H-Hi."

Eli held back a cackle, then turned around to fully compose himself. Dave filled the void in conversation. "Eli, you remember Hal, _right?_ "

Eli faced Hal and cleared his throat. "Of course." He flashed a plastic smile.

"N-Nice to finally talk to you."

Out of the fray of the rest of the hallway, George joined the group. He smiled at his brothers, but appraised the other teen. "Hi Hal. Why are you waiting with them?"

"Dave offered to take me over to your guys' house." He looked away and adjusted his glasses. "To hang out."

His face grew hot. George wouldn't mind this outing, right? He came off as the nicest and most accommodating of the three; Hal was mostly worried about Eli.

"That's good," he said. "I'm glad that you and Dave will get to spend some time together outside of school." Hal nodded.

"Well, now that everyone's here, let's go." Eli shoved on through the door behind him, and the others followed suit behind him into the slightly chilly air.

"It'd still be scorching hot if we were in California," Dave commented.

"I d-don't think I could stand that heat." Hal replied.

When they reached Eli's car, he passed Dave the keys, who wedged it into the lock on the passenger side door. With some fiddling, it clicked, and he pulled open the door. "It's open."

Eli say in the driver's seat, and Dave in the passenger, while George and Hal climbed into the backseat.

Hal (against his better manners) coughed loudly. "Why does th-the car smell like a sssskunk?"

Eli shifted his gaze up at him through the rearview mirror. "You don't judge a man's car smell, _Hal._ " His tone flooded with sarcasm. "God, for a nerd, you're so rude!"

"I'm sorry! I didn't m-mean to be rude!"

"Don't worry about it." Dave sighed while Eli laughed. "Hal, where do you live again? Do you still want to go back to your house?"

"Y-Yeah. I live in Bear Valley."

"Wait, you said Bear Valley?" Eli questioned. "Isn't that where all the rich kids live?"

"W-Well," Hal jammed his fingers together. "Not to brag, but m-my dad's a p-prestigious scientist."

"That must be really cool!" George cheered.

"I-I guess…"

Eli started the car and pulled out of his parking space. He made a turn out of the school and onto the familiar road lined with evergreen trees. He focused on the vibration of the car, and the feeling of cold air whizzing over his head from the slightly rolled down window.

"Hal, what did you get in biology?" George asked.

"Um, a-an A." That didn't seem too arrogant, did it?

"That's good," the freshman responded. "I need help with my homework, and no one in our family is really very good with science."

"I-I could help you."

"Thank you Hal. That means a lot to me."

He smiled despite himself. Maybe he would actually relax, have fun, and build a friendship with someone. He pushed his glasses up his face and stared out into the foliage.


	9. Chapter 9

The Best is Yet to Come (Chapter 9)

Having lived there his whole life, Hal had been to Bear Valley countless times, the allure of the large houses and perfectly manicured lawns and flower beds long worn off. The entire neighborhood had a cheery summer afternoon feel. One would expect children to be frolicking in the spray of a sprinkler, with their parents relaxing and sipping cold drinks by the porch.

However, while George and Eli were in awe, Dave kept his normal deadpan expression.

"These houses are so nice," George drawled, his eyes glued to the car window. Long branches from robust trees that hadn't shed their leaves yet scraped against the car. "Which one is your's, Hal?"

"Th-The one on the right. Number 226." He turned his head toward his own window to hide his burning face.

"I see it." Eli pulled up into the house's vacant driveway, which was shaded by a neighbor's tree. He shifted the car into park. "Nobody'll mind if we park here for a few minutes, will they?"

"I'll be right back." Hal scurried out of the car and into his house.

Once inside, he quickly deposited his backpack onto a chair and raced into the kitchen. He grabbed the receiver from the wall phone and dialed a number.

One ring. Two rings. Three rings. Nothing.

"Come on, Julie," Hal muttered. He dialed again to no avail. He replaced the phone in defeat. He couldn't go with Dave and his brothers if no one was there to watch Emma. Maybe he could bring her with? Would they mind? Could they just stay at his house?

Hal heard another vehicle pull up, then a door swing open. He returned to the living room and peeked through the creamy silk curtains. A brown haired man was bent over Eli's car, seemingly very angry and yelling obscenities. He recognized the person immediately and ran back outside.

"Dude, listen," Eli consoled. "I'm sorry, but we're just waiting for someone to get ready! Calm down!"

"I don't need delinquents like you all racing your rusted out beaters around, tearing up the road while you destroy and invade other people's property!"

"Where did you get all of that?" Dave demanded. He clenched his hands under the glove box. "We just want to pick up a friend, that's all." he said with a forced calm.

"What did you say about my car?" Eli got out of the car to face the man head-to-head, fists mockingly raised, when Hal came up to them.

"Dad! Eli! Stop!" he cried.

"Relax, I wasn't gonna do anything!" Eli still appraised his opponent, who did look a great deal like Hal. Though somewhat masked by anger, his demeanor was meek and mouselike. He was wearing a fancier outfit, a crisp red button up shirt and dress pants complete with an olive green tie and suspenders.

"Hal, do you know these people?" his father asked.

"Y-Yeah, th-they're my-" He gulped. "F-Friends."

George removed himself from the vehicle, and Dave followed. "We didn't mean to cause any trouble, Mr. Emmerich," the blond said. "We're really sorry."

George looked like he was about to crumple from fear, so Dave moved over to stand behind him. Mr. Emmerich sized up the brothers again, then his own son. "Hal, I'm glad you have friends, but I better see them gone in the next few minutes, or I'm calling the police."

"Police?" Dave snapped. "But _we haven't done anything!_ " His jaw locked, and he unwittingly dug his fingers into George's shoulders. It was all be could do not to whack Hal's father in the face. He had the same stature as his son; one punch and he'd probably be down.

"Dave, it's not worth it," George whimpered. "Let's just take Hal back to our house, okay?"

The brunette growled. Even through the fall chill, he was sweating. "You're right George." He patted his brother's (now sore) shoulders. "Let's just go." He circled back around to the passenger side and sat in, slamming the door shut. "Are you coming, Hal?"

Mr. Emmerich pulled his son toward him. "Are you sure you want to be hanging around these drug-peddling truants?"

"Dad, I've been hanging around with them for a while now. Th-They're fine." Hal said. "Please let me go with them. I'll be back by curfew, I-I promise!"

"Did you even think about your sister?"

"Are y-you staying home tonight?"

"What does that have to do with it?"

"You need to watch her," Hal didn't realize that the pair's voices had been rising throughout the conversation. His statement echoed across the otherwise silent driveway. "J-Just for tonight." he whimpered in a small voice.

The older male dropped his gaze and grasped a tuft of graying hair. "All right, _fine._ But you'd better be back by your curfew. You know how your mother gets."

"I'll be back, I promise!"

"You'll have to, that's all I'll say," Hal's father glared at Eli. " _The stench of marijuana on you is sickening._ " He marched into the house.

"I love you too, man." Eli got back into the driver's seat, snickering like a schoolgirl the whole time.

Hal scrambled back into the car along with George. "I-I'm sorry my dad m-made a scene." He seemed too shaken to show much more emotion.

"Hey, it's alright," Eli wheezed. He put the car in reverse and backed out of the driveway. "Can't believe he insulted my car, though."

"But he's kinda right," Dave remarked, with a bit more venom than intended. "This thing is a beater."

"She may be a beater, but she's _my_ beater." He patted the dashboard and turned out onto the main road.

* * *

"Alright, here we are," Eli announced, pulling up to the Pliskin residence. "Welcome to our home in Moose Haven."

The exterior looked like your standard two-story middle class home. A pristine white fence enclosed the sunny property.

"You guys have a nice house too." Hal said.

"If you like the outside," Dave began. "Then you'll be disappointed by the inside."

"No he won't!" George retorted. "Mom decorated it herself. Of course it looks nice!"

"...Right."

Everyone stepped out of the car and approached the front door, which was locked. George rung the doorbell.

The door swung open. "Oh, I didn't realize it was you all." Eva appeared at the door, donning a warm smile. "Welcome back!" She peered at Hal. "I see you brought a friend?

"Mom, this is Hal." Dave stepped aside to give Eva a full view of him. "We've been hanging out together recently, so I invited him over."

She nodded in understanding. "Well, come in."

"Th-Thank you, Mrs. Pliskin." Hal sheepishly smiled.

The inside did seem to fit Dave's description. The furniture style was much more eclectic than Hal's model home, but it was indeed arranged nicely, giving a cozy feel. Shades of tan and maroon permeated the front room's couch and curtains, with a well-worn armchair adjacent to the TV.

"I just ask that you take your shoes off, Hal." Eva said. "Other than that, make yourself at home."

Hal slipped off his sneakers and primly sat on the couch, making sure as little of his body touched the furniture as possible. He examined and moved about the house as if he were in a museum, extremely careful not to touch and accidentally break a fragile and priceless artifact.

"Do you like video games, Hal?" Eli awkwardly asked, pulling out a black console from the entertainment center.

"Uh, yeah. But, is that a Genesis?"

"Do you have a problem with that?" Eli unwound the controller and sat down next to Hal. He elbowed the other male. "What are you, some kinda Nintendo dork?"

"Yes?" Hal squeaked. His expression lightened when Eli placed the controller in his hands.

"Then allow us to christen you on the blast processing goodness of the Sega Genesis," Dave, who was sitting on the other side of Hal, patted his shoulder. "You pick the game, buddy."

"You should play Sonic," George remarked. "That one's a lot of fun."

"Okay, Sonic then." George crawled to a compartment of the TV stand and selected a cartridge. He popped it into the console and returned to his spot on the floor under Dave.

For a good while, the teenagers played Sonic the Hedgehog, passing off the controller after the current player lost a life. Though the dizzying speed overwhelmed Hal at first (evidenced by his disproportionate amount of deaths), his eyes adjusted to the point where he could move at Sonic's top speed.

"Look, you finally got past Green Hill by yourself," Dave said. "Good luck with Marble Zone, though."

"I got this," Eli took the controller from Hal. "I'm really good at this stage."

Hal watched the blond attempt to jump onto the narrow green blocks, and subsequently fall into lava. He felt a warmth in his chest as he listened to the brothers chide each other on their gaming skills. With the stress of the day and the overstimulation of the new console, his eyelids began to slowly droop. He heard a snippet of Eli saying something about how that zone was much easier when he was high before passing out completely.

Dave felt something slide onto his shoulder. He froze under the weight of his sleeping friend's head, careful not to wake him up.

Eli huffed at another death, then noticed Dave's predicament. "Uh, is he-"

"Yeah, I think so," Dave whispered. He tested the waters and nudged Hal. "Out cold."

"What do we do?" George said in a low voice.

"Relax. I'll just take him upstairs." Dave got up from the couch and effortlessly scooped up his friend. Though Dave was stronger than the average teenage boy (on account of genetics and physical training), Hal was very scrawny. He felt as light as a feather in Dave's arms.

"You go, Prince Charming!" Eli whisper-shouted.

"If my arms weren't full, I'd beat your ass."

Dave climbed the stairs and entered his bedroom. He gently deposited Hal on top of his bed, immediately regretting not pulling out a blanket for him. He somewhat successfully managed to yank the comforter over his sleeping form, and stopped there.

He almost looked cute in his position, his glasses slightly off center from his face. A smile crept across Dave's lips. It was alike to the feeling of watching a slumbering puppy at a pet store.

While he could've stayed and watched Hal sleep for much longer, his brothers were waiting for him downstairs.

* * *

Hal had felt Dave pick him up and place him onto the soft bed. He wasn't totally asleep yet, just playing on the line of consciousness. He'd let the brunette do that; Hal couldn't seem to recall any time _he_ was the one being coddled.

His first sensation upon waking up was the tickle of the fluffy comforter draped over his arms. Half of his vision stood out as blurry, so he adjusted his glasses and sat up.

He was surprised to see another bed across from him, and surmised about the reason before the obvious answer appeared; it was probably Eli's. Twins typically share a room, right? The area was rather simple otherwise, with basic navy blue walls and vacant dresser tops.

Dave suddenly entered the room, clothed in only boxer shorts. "Oh my God! I'm sorry, I forgot you were in here."

"Uh-" The words caught in Hal's throat. The build of the man in front of him was mesmerizing. While noticeably toned down to realistic proportions, Dave's physique was exceptional. Toned biceps and quads, abs on the way to a six pack…

"You don't mind if I get dressed real quick, right?"

"Hmm?" Heat rained down onto Hal's cheeks. "Oh, y-y-yeah! I d-don't m-mind!"

Dave pulled out a drawer from his dresser and plucked a gray shirt. The other male observed with disturbing intensity as he fully clothed himself in about thirty seconds. It was almost a disappointment when that sheet of fabric was put on over his excellent torso.

"By the way, my mom wants to know whether you're staying for dinner."

The question snapped Hal out of his trance. "Yeah, I'll stay!"

The last thing he wanted was for the night to end.


	10. Chapter 10

The Best is Yet to Come (Chapter 10)

When Dave led Hal downstairs to the dining room, the first thing that he witnessed which chipped away at his worldview was how _lively_ there and the kitchen were. George was maintaining a jovial conversation with Eli (who was reclining with his feet on the table) while laying down plates and cutlery, occasionally snickering. Eva hummed in a hearty alto while tossing the salad and peeking in the oven. Smells so rich you could practically taste the food hung in the air. Even the lighting was brighter and more uplifting.

Such expressions of joy didn't fit his view of a family dinner. He saw the affair as a rare and grim trial, where everyone quietly tucked into their own bland meals and tolerated the tension from unspoken grievances. He couldn't shake how baffled he was.

George placed the last of the china down in a spot with no seat in front of it. "Mom, where are the extra chairs?" he called.

"In the garage. I don't know if we have any left, though."

"Thank you!" He weaved around Dave and Hal to get to the garage door close by. A light was flicked on, then the sound of something dragging across the concrete floor was heard. "I found one!"

George returned with a wooden chair identical to the others at the table. While pulling it from in front before, he switched to pushing it from behind to get it in its spot. Hal noticeably cringed at the racket it made. "It's a little dusty, though." The blond ran his shirt sleeve over the chair and addressed the nervous male. "I can sit in this one, if you want. I don't mind."

"N-No, that's okay."

"I'll at least clean it off for you, then." George disappeared into the kitchen in pursuit of a rag.

Eva replaced her son, a large salad bowl in her hands. "The main course isn't quite ready yet, but you can take some salad now if you're hungry." She nudged Eli's feet. "Eli, put your feet on the floor! Your father will be home soon."

"Yeah, alright."

"Thanks Mom," Dave said. He wasted no time in sitting himself down at the table and doling out a hefty helping of salad onto his plate. "Do you want some too, Hal?"

"No thank you." Hal insisted.

"You offer Hal some, but not me?" Eli feigned hurt, dramatically placing a hand to his chest.

"You were sitting here first. You could have taken some if you wanted it." His twin simply scoffed and dropped the conversation.

George reappeared with a wet rag. "Just hold on a second, Hal." He rubbed down the general areas of the chair, focusing on the seat and back. "There you go!"

"Th-Thank you, George." He approached the chair and stiffly sank down into it. While a little cold from the wash, it was comfortable enough for his purposes. To Hal's relief, his chair was placed next to Dave, who was stabbing his fork into his pile of greens and munching it down with gusto.

The front door swung open, revealing a man that looked to be a bigger and older Dave.

"Welcome home, Jack." Eva rushed to greet him, removing his jacket and planting a kiss on his lips.

"Hello, Eva." Jack returned her subsequent hug, his eyes alight with affection. "Let me tell ya, it's getting cold out there. Nothing like California."

More confusion was felt by Hal. Parents that exchanged friendly banter and seemed to genuinely enjoy seeing each other were as weird as a heat wave in winter to him.

"Well, you'll get a hot meal soon enough. Just sit down and relax." The oven dinged. "There it is now!"

"I'll help you, Mom!" George and his mother raced back into the kitchen.

Jack claimed his place at the head of the table. He took note of his son eating, then of Hal, who had gone ghostly white. "Who are you?"

Dave finished his salad, tossing his fork onto his plate with a clank. "Um, his name is Hal, Dad. He's my friend. He came over this afternoon."

"I see," Jack examined Hal like an eagle would with its prey. The teen froze under the one eyed glare of this eye patched, intimidating man. He then extended his hand. "Nice to meet you, son."

"Ah, th-thank you." Hal bit his lip to refrain from squeaking under the powerful grip of Dave's father. The older man grimaced.

Eva and George filled the remaining seats and deposited salad onto their plates. "The lasagna needs to cool for a bit. We'll have it soon, though." Eva announced.

The bowl was passed around to everyone (with Dave taking a second serving) and shortly reached Hal, who only took a small pile before sliding it back to the center.

"Hal, there's plenty to go around," Eva chided. "Please, take more."

Hal looked to Jack for approval. He simply stared at him with an expectant gaze. "O-Okay." He pulled the bowl back to his plate and took another small pile before digging in. It was probably one of the better salads he'd had in his life; crisp greens, sweet carrots and red onion, all coated in a tangy dressing.

"So, Hal," Jack began. "How long have you and Dave known each other?"

"Since the beginning of the year," Dave said. "He let me sit with him at lunch."

Jack grunted. "What other classes are you taking?"

"I think he's taking-"

"David, I want Hal to answer this one," He bore a hole into his guest with his stare. "Go on, son."

The rest of the family looked on with pity. Hal adjusted his glasses. "I-I t-take computer classsses," He was afraid his response wasn't detailed enough for Jack's liking. Maybe he already thought he was untrustworthy. Maybe he would forbid Dave from seeing him, and that would be the end of their relationship.

"That's a booming field right now," George nervously commented.

"I guess so," The father's face softened a bit. "You want to be a programmer?"

"A-Actually, I want to be an engineer." While he figured showing passion would help his standing with Jack, Hal genuinely wanted to share. "I want to be able to invent new technology that helps people, and use science to make the world a better place."

Dave, George, and Eva smiled. Even Eli cracked an amused smirk.

"Well, Hal, it seems like you have a lot of ambition. That's something I can respect."

Hal breathed a sigh of relief. "I saw all of those impressive mechs in Gundam and got inspired."

" _Gundam?"_ Jack blurted. "What the hell is that?"

A range of reactions flooded the room. Eli covered his mouth to keep from laughing, Dave's countenance was one of stupendous disappointment, and George simply stared at his ignorant father, all while Eva chided him on swearing.

"Well, I think the lasagna's cool enough now," Eva said. "George, why don't you come help me get it."

"I'm coming, Mom." The pair sped into the kitchen.

Eli gripped the back of his chair with enough force to turn his knuckles white. Dave halfheartedly glared at his twin, but he really couldn't blame him for laughing; anime was such a niche and _geeky_ genre of media that his father would be clueless, and most likely disapprove.

"H-Have you heard of a-anime?" Hal slid lower down his chair. "Th-They're Japanese cartoons."

"Cartoons? Like the ones the kids watch?" George and Eva returned with the lasagna dish, the aroma reaching its peak. Jack and Dave helped to clear a space for the main course and its potholders to rest.

"Uh, I think adults watch them too," Dave mended. "Things are different in Japan, Dad…"

"Y-Yeah…" Hal's face flushed.

"I think that's very interesting, Hal. It's so nice to be able to experience something from a culture so different from ours." Eva grabbed the spatula she brought in and raised her plate. "Everybody pass your plates here, and I'll give you a serving."

Conversation ceased while dinner was doled out. When Hal's plate returned to him, he tore into the oozing layers of pasta and sauce and took a bite. "This is really good, Mrs. Pliskin."

"Thank you, Hal." Eva beamed.

"Son, what were you saying about those Japanese cartoons?" Jack asked. "They inspired you to be an engineer _how_?"

Just when the anxious teen had thought he was safe from the topic, he was yanked back into it by the domineering man next to him.

"I-I l-like the mechs," Eli looked like he was about to choke on his food from repressing laughter. "Japan already invented the first bipedal robot, so I get excited thinking about where we could go next."

Jack refrained from asking any more questions, out of both confusion and disinterest. Everybody are their food in silence, Dave begging Eli to do something by nudging him under the table and gesturing to their father.

"Hey Dad," Eli chuckled. "Why don't you tell that story about the time you ate a snake in Vietnam."

Jack gleefully dove into the tale without hesitation. "It was 1968. I was only 19 years old, still a pretty inexperienced recruit…"

"Are you sure this is appropriate dinner conversation?" George said, his skin already turning as white as paper. He turned to his mother for support. She said nothing.

Dave saw Hal go pale (again) as well. He growled and chose to focus his attention on his lasagna. Eli's solution _did_ work, right? Jack was much more relaxed now.

"...And, like the dumb rookie I was, I gobbled down all of my rations too quickly. By nightfall, I'm starving again, and I see a snake."

George and Hal fully blanched at the description of how Jack killed, gutted, and slurped down the snake. It was cruel and revolting, to say the least. But while the blond recovered quickly and returned to eating, Hal slipped into an awkward chuckle.

"D-Do you guys always t-talk about things like this?" the anxious male joked. Tears swelled at the bottom of his eyes; if he didn't stop laughing, he would surely start crying. It was probably wrong of him to assume that this family was picture-perfect.

"Uh, not all the time," Eli looked embarrassed, a rare occurrence for someone of his temperament. "I guess we're kinda weird…"

" _That's an understatement,_ " Dave muttered to himself.

* * *

The rest of dinner hobbled by, severely wounded by the former conversation. After a curt goodbye preceded by Hal's father coming to pick him up, Jack pulled out a cigar and headed to his chair in the living room.

"Can one of yous get the mail?" Jack struck a match, holding it up to the end of his cigar.

George caught a glimpse of Dave's face. His hands were curled into fists, and he was almost snorting like a bull incensed by red cloth. "I'll go." He scurried out into the cold, making sure to close the door behind him.

Dave shook his head and approached Jack. "What the hell was that?"

"Excuse me?" Jack removed the cigar from his lips. "What are you talking about?"

"What you just did," Dave continued. The smell of burning tobacco usually didn't faze him; it even brought comfort at times. But now, he gagged when the stench entered his nostrils. "Would it have killed you for _one fucking night_ to not be so judgemental?"

"You'd better watch your mouth, David," Jack snapped. "I don't know where you get off on swearing at your father out of the blue, but-"

"Hal gets his ass kicked every day at school, Dad." Dave placed his hand on his forehead, exasperated. "I just thought he could come here and actually have a good time. I don't think he'll ever want to come back here now."

"That's too bad for him, David." Jack stated. "You're better off without him. A childish wreck is what he is. Wanting to be an engineer to build silly toys from cartoons? Give me a break." He took a draft from his cigar, sending roiling puffs of smoke out into the air.

" _Is that it?_ Were you purposely trying to chase him away?"

The father heavily groaned. "David, I'm disappointed. I know you can do better than him. His immaturity and cowardice will only hold you back later down the road." Another puff. "You'd think he would've taken care of his own 'bullies' by now."

"You know, Dad," Dave spat. "I'm disappointed _in you_. I thought you would appreciate that I made a friend, but I guess that only matters if you approve of them one hundred percent." He stomped halfway up the stairs. "Good night." He disappeared into his room. Eli (who had been eavesdropping in the dining room) soon joined his brother without saying a word.

George entered the house again, a bundle of mail in his hands. He glanced at Jack, then quickly deposited the letters onto the dining room table and raced upstairs.

"Honey, I don't mean to pile on, but would you please take your smoke outside?" Eva appeared behind Jack's chair, toying with a washcloth. "It takes a lot of effort to remove the smell."

"Damn it, Eva-" Jack pinched the bridge of his nose. "In a little bit. Just let me finish it." He sucked in a long and rich draft.

"Of course, dear." She swung the washcloth over her shoulder and rubbed her husband's shoulders over the back of the chair. Eva tried her best to work out the knots and kinks in his muscles brought on by stress, pressing down harder to massage deeper into his body.

"I don't know what to do about him, Eva. I'm only looking out for his best interest, and he mouths off to me. Does he have no foresight? Any thought of the future?"

"You know how teenagers are. How passionate they can be about the people they care about." A coy grin played at her lips. "I can certainly think of a man who's made some rash decisions for the one he loved."

Jack snorted, but found himself smiling. "I suppose so."

"I know you don't really want to fight with Dave, and I don't think he really wants to fight with you either. Please, find it in your heart to forgive him." She now simply rested her hands on his shoulders. "I'll talk to Dave tomorrow. You both have things to apologize for."

Jack sighed. He put out his cigar in the ashtray next to the chair and left it there. It looked freakishly large compared to the charred runts that mainly populated the bottom. "You're right, Eva. I'll apologize tomorrow." He rose from his chair. "Are you coming to bed now?"

"I still need to finish up the dishes." Eva leaned into her husband for a kiss and a hug. "I love you, Jack."

"I love you too, Eva."

The slight creaking of the stairs under Jack's weight was the last sound heard that night.


	11. Chapter 11

The Best is Yet to Come (Chapter 11)

When Eva was setting the table for breakfast, she noticed Eli pad down the stairs much earlier than usual. "Did your brother say anything to you last night?" she asked him after he quickly took a seat.

Eli shook his head. "Not a word. You know how he gets when he's upset."

"That's what I was afraid of…"

Eva returned to the kitchen to finish preparing breakfast. She gave the sizzling bacon a final flip before transferring the strips to a paper towel. She caught another glance at Eli when she brought out the meat. He looked somber, his feet firmly planted on the ground. It must not have been easy sharing a room with someone so tense last night.

A slight creaking sounded out from above them, and George appeared at the table. He sighed. "I'm kinda glad Dad and Dave aren't here yet." He sunk into the chair next to Eli, who pulled him closer and rubbed his shoulder.

They sat in silence as Eva piled up the table with breakfast foods. No one dared to break the fragile atmosphere by speaking; it would have been the equivalent of triggering an avalanche.

Everyone's heart rate picked up when they saw Dave claim a spot at the anxious altar, his brow scrunched up.

"Morning," Eli said in forced cheer. "How did you sleep, brother?" He sucked in air through his clenched teeth.

"Cut the crap, Eli." Dave responded. "You don't have to be so scared either, George. I promise I won't lash out at anyone."

George turned away in guilt. Eli simply returned to his usual demeanor, reclining in his chair.

Eva placed an empty plate in front of Dave. "Sweetie, can we talk?" she muttered. She waved her hand at her other sons, who cleared out immediately.

"What is it, Mom?"

"I don't want you and your father to be fighting like this. You don't want to either, right?"

Dave purses his lips. "No, I don't. But I couldn't just let him get away with ripping into Hal so much."

"I know, and it just shows how much you care about him." She wrapped an arm around her son's shoulders. "I talked with your father last night, and he feels guilty."

"Really?" Dave softly questioned.

Eva nodded. "I think you both said things that you regretted. Why don't you apologize?"

The brunette crosses his arms. "Alright, I'll apologize."

"Thank you, sweetheart." She kissed him on the cheek and approached the wall near the stairs. "Jack! Breakfast is ready!"

Jack thudded down the stairs and into the kitchen. He stiffly sat down next to Dave, as that was the only seat available.

"Before we eat," Eva interrupted Dave reaching for a strip of bacon. He retracted his hand, keeping eye contact with his mother the whole time. "Jack, Dave, I think you two have some things to say to each other."

"Um," Dave looked down at his barren plate. "Dad, I'm sorry for yelling at you last night. I probably overreacted to how you were at dinner…"

"David, I'm sorry too." He eyed his wife, who nodded for him to continue. "I shouldn't have pressured him so much or said what I did about him." He turned his gaze away. "After all, he must be at least halfway decent if you're friends with him."

"That's very sweet of you, Jack." Eva said. "Thank you both for working things out."

"Genius interrogation technique, Mom," Eli added. "Deprive them of food until they do what you want."

Eva laughed. "I would never do that to my boys!" Dave interpreted that as a cue to retrieve the meat he was reaching for. When his mother said nothing, everyone else took food as well.

"George, could you get the mail from last night?" Jack asked. "I haven't had a chance to read through it."

"Sure thing!" He bounded into the dining room, and returned a moment later with the stack of letters. His father accepted and leafed through them.

He held one close to his face, squinting at the return address. "Huh. This one says it's for you, George." He flipped to the next letter. "You have one too, Eli." He slid the letters to their recipients.

George appraised his message. "Why did the school send me something?" He tore open the envelope and skimmed the contents. "'George Pliskin, we are thrilled to inform you that you have been selected for enrollment in Bartlett High's sister school, Anchorage Academy. Your academic aptitude and vigilance in learning has proven you worthy of a spot in this fine institution, which we hope will take you to new heights and further your education.'"

"Honey, that's amazing!" Eva cheered.

"It even says here that tuition's free!" George examined the address. "The school looks pretty far, though. If I did go there, I'd have to live in a dorm."

"That would be a good experience for you, George,"Jack intervened. "You'd learn to be self-reliant and independent."

"Okay, that makes sense…"

"Eli, did you get accepted too?" George asked.

" _No,_ " he whined. "Mine says I have to go to some remedial school."

"What?" Jack took Eli's letter. "Let me see this." He scanned the paper, muttering the words to himself. "This is ridiculous! You're no delinquent! You just don't apply yourself."

"Yeah! I'm lazy, not destructive!" Dave groaned.

"I don't know, Jack," Eva spoke in a low voice to her husband. "You're right, he doesn't exactly have the best work ethic. Maybe going there could help him out."

"Eva, he doesn't need any of that garbage." Jack argued back. "If you're worried about his work ethic, there are civilian jobs open at the base. I could get him in one of those."

His wife's face contorted in thought. "He does need money for his car, too…"

"What are you guys talking about?" Eli loudly questioned. Embarrassed, his parents addressed him.

"Eli, I'm going to see if I can get you a job at the base," Jack announced. "That's just what you need to get some order in your life."

"Whatever you say, man." Eli crunched on his bacon.

Eva peered at the clock in the kitchen behind her. "We can wrap up this discussion later. I don't want anyone to be late." On that note, the conversation fell.

Dave hadn't said a word about his brothers' letters because he was stuck ruminating about last night. He genuinely did forgive his father, but his words lingered. He chewed his breakfast thoughtfully.

" _You'd think he would've taken care of his own 'bullies' by now."_

He'd never seen Hal get beat up or tormented in person; he didn't even know what his bullies looked like. He imagined that they wouldn't have to be extremely strong to intimidate his friend, though they still could be.

When everyone finished their meals, Eva cleared the table and shooed the males out of the kitchen. Dave strided into the car with his brothers, having derived a clear idea from his musings.

* * *

Tomorrow was homecoming, and the school's air was more electric than ever. People donned patriotic attire in accordance with that day's spirit theme, the halls colored with moving bodies that, together, resembled a rustling American flag.

Nothing changed for Hal. He still scurried to his locker while looking over his shoulder. His nerves made him fumble with the combination lock; he patted down his hands and tried again. He was about to test the handle when someone pulled him away from it.

Hal fell to the ground and whimpered. when the hand on his hood jerked away. "I-I'm sorry…"

"What the hell was that?" Adam took hold of Hal's shirt and yanked him forward, only using one arm. "God, you fucking piss baby!" He threw him to the ground again, the lockers rattling off a metallic slam.

Hal coughed. He buried his face into his hands to stem the flow of tears. "P-Please…"

"Or what?" Adam taunted, a sadistic grin plastered on his face. He gave his victim a sharp kick in the chest. "Don't think that wimpy shit's gonna get you outta this, Hal."

Hal found it disturbing that the aggressor knew his name. He pulled his knees closer to his (surely) bruised chest and waited for the next attack.

"Oh come on, Emmerich!" Adam knocked Hal to the side with his foot and stomped on his abdomen. A strangled wheeze escaped the smaller male. "You're making this boring!"

Hal watched the stream of students behind Adam pass by without a second thought. They either had their eyes glued to books, or blatantly looked away. It had been almost four years; why wouldn't anyone help him? How could they not see the suffering right under their noses? Did his fellow peers feel such contempt for him that they thought this necessary, or even just?

Another kick, and his glasses fell off of his face. He shielded his eyes with his arms again, his breathing rapid and shuddering.

The ravine blurred into a mass of color, an unflinching highway. One deviated, though; a gray dot stood next to Adam, from what Hal could tell.

"What are you doing?" A familiar voice barked. _Dave._

Adam scoffed and turned to address the interruption. "That's none of your concern,Pliskin."

"Answer me."

Hal scrambled for his glasses. Thankfully, they were still intact, and he shoved them back over his eyes. The blobs took human form. Their faces were hard as stone, intimidation etched into the creases.

The noise in the hallway disappeared. A ring of spectators crowded around the pair. They all stood with bated breath, enthralled at the possibility of violence.

"You really think you're in any position to be standing up to me?" While Dave was slightly larger than average, Adam still towered over him. He maintained a cool composure while scanning the group.

"Maybe not," Dave conceded. "But I don't care if someone is getting hurt." He met Adam's challenge with a grim glare.

"If you insist, Pliskin!"

* * *

From Hal's perspective, the situation could have been pulled straight from an action movie. The punch to Dave's jaw was seen from an obscured angle, a common film trick to avoid actually hurting anyone.

The whooping and hollering afterwards could have been seen as fake too, if it wasn't so piercing and guttural. Incoherent yells belted out by the crowd stuffed the hallway with an overabundance of stimulation. The burst of confusion and anger exploded into existence like a firecracker, paralyzing the frightened male.

Sharp clacking of shoes entered the scene. The colorful sparks immediately dissipated, and the students dispersed as if their lives depended on it.

Hal met Dave's scrutiny; his unwavering blue eyes chilled him to the bone.

He waved his hand. "Go!" he mouthed.

Hal nodded and scurried away.

"What is all of this?" the teacher revealed to be Mr. Palmer announced. "Someone tell me this instant!"

Dave sighed, rubbing his jaw. "He's not here anymore, but he was beating on another student. I had to stop him."

"Adam, is this true?"

"That's not true at all." Adam smoothly stated. "He was the one who was hurting another student. If I hadn't intervened, that poor kid could've gotten seriously hurt."

"Mr. Palmer, he's lying!" He felt ridiculous pleading with a teacher like this. He flaunted his bruised jaw. "Would I be the one injured if I was the bully?"

"I had to pacify him, Mr. Palmer. Unfortunately, I was forced to use violence."

"Mr. Palmer-"

"That's enough, David!" the teacher barked. "I'm issuing you a detention for disturbing the peace of the school. Be grateful you're getting that instead of a suspension."

"Are you kidding me?" Dave balked. "I'm not the one who did anything wrong! This is total bullshit!"

"You might want to watch your words, Pliskin." Adam said. "You don't know what else can happen around here." His warning drifted off into space. "By the way, tell your brother he's not going to be student body president."

When Adam marched away, he muttered to himself "Something like that would never happen in this school."


	12. Chapter 12

The Best is Yet to Come (Chapter 12)

An abused slip of paper rested in Dave's hoodie pocket. He fiddled with it all day, crumbling it up and contorting it into an illegible mass of creases. He almost had to hold his wrist back to not sock the teacher in the eye while the paper was given to him in English. A fire still burned in his whole body from the incident, especially in his jaw; a purple bruise was left smeared on the right side of his face.

Normally, Dave would stick to the sides of the hallway before entering the cafeteria, letting the crowd stampede through the doors to be first in the lunch line before entering himself. However, today he barrelled through before everyone else had a chance, not too keen on waiting today.

He briskly approached his table and only took a glance. Hal wasn't present; that was probably safer for him. He took the absence at face value and sat at Eli's table. No one else showed up yet. When he took out his lunch, his brother circled around him and took the chair to his right.

"Now, _how_ did you get into a fight with Adam?" Eli said. "I've heard a lot of theories, but I want it straight from the source."

Dave huffed. "I hate to break it to you, but it wasn't that interesting." He lowered his voice into a low mutter. Eli leaned in. "Listen, Hal was getting beat on by him, and I was finally there to stop it."

"Woah," Eli drawled. "Is that how you got that bruise?" He reached out to touch it, with Dave immediately batting his curious hand away. Pain blossomed through his chin again.

"Yeah," Dave winced. "The nurse said it's not broken. Still hurts like a bitch, though." He massaged the tender area. "It doesn't help that I got detention either."

Eli felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned his head and saw Drebin standing over him. "What's up, man?" They did a fist bump.

"Just the usual." He slid into the other seat next to Dave. "What's this one hanging around for?"

"Hal's hiding again," Eli announced. "You know what happened this morning, right?"

"Yeah, that." Drebin nudged Dave. "I really gotta give you credit there, pal. No one's ever stood up to Adam before."

"Thanks." Dave spat. "Just, why did I get detention if _I_ was the one injured?" He figured if anyone would know, it would be Drebin with his vast underground connections.

"Beats me." He tried to amend Dave's gawking expression. "If it makes you feel any better, that guy always seems to get special treatment."

"Speaking of detention," Eli crossed his arms. "Me, Drebin, and Meryl got it too."

"For what, exactly?" Dave moaned.

"We got caught smoking behind the school this morning." Drebin pulled out a candy bar. "Poor Meryl got picked up by her uncle. I'd hate to be in her shoes right now."

Dave's anger momentarily softened in sympathy for his date. He made a mental note to try to visit, or at least call Meryl after school (if her uncle would allow it).

"When did you get your's?" Eli asked. "Mine's on Saturday morning."

Dave pulled out the paper and smoothed it out. "Mine's on Saturday morning too. Do you have it in room 133?"

"Yep. So does Drebin."

"You're actually gonna go this time, right?"

Eli sighed. "Yeah. Mom would get mad if I missed another detention."

"She just doesn't want you to get expelled."

"I know. But maybe she should be more worried about you. I'm not the one who got into a fight."

The brunette ducked his head. "I just thought about what Dad said. About taking care of your own problems. I wanted to step up."

A moment of silence. "Wow, you really are Dad's clone!" Eli callously concluded.

Drebin chuckled. "Anyway, since we're here…" He placed a neatly folded paper in Dave's lap. "Pass this to your brother, would ya?"

Dave unfolded the paper. "Are these math test answers?"

"Shhhh!" Eli plucked the paper from Dave's hands and shoved it into his jacket. "Not so loud, alright?"

"When did you get so paranoid?"

"After 'the updates,' I'm kinda suspicious." Eli zipped his brown jacket up to his chin and patted down the paper on the inside. "We were outside, no teachers around, and we still got caught."

 _The updates?_ Eli handled the words with much care; what phrase could possibly even leave his easy going brother shifting his eyes and speaking in hushed and careful tones? Dave looked to Drebin for an answer. He only pointed above his head.

Dave looked up, and stared right into the shiny lens of a security camera.

* * *

At the end of the school day, Dave took his usual place next to Eli by the front doors. While waiting for George, the two would usually be talking; there was rarely a silent moment between members of the Pliskin family. This time, however, he stayed silent, and even stood a little farther from his twin. Whether it was from exhaustion, unrelated stress, or both, he didn't have a clue; the idea of conversation simply repulsed him at that moment.

"Come on." Eli eventually said.

The brunette wasn't paying attention; George might as well have teleported there. But he was present, standing next to Eli and wringing out his fingers.

"Are you okay, George?" Dave asked.

"I'm fine…" George's lip quivered.

When they walked to their car, Dave wrapped an arm around his little brother and hugged him close to his side. George leaned into the touch, only letting go to climb into the backseat.

Eli slipped behind the wheel and adjusted the rearview mirror. "So, how was everyone's day?" His tone was saturated with dejection. "What about you, George?"

He grossly sniffled. "I-I got detention…"

"You too?" Dave blurted. "What could you have possibly done?"

"Yeah," Eli pulled out of his parking space. "That's not like you to get in trouble, George."

"I got charged with insubordination." George whimpered. "I shouldn't have pried my teacher too much. I think I deserve it."

"What do you mean you 'pried your teacher too much?'"

George hiccuped, then threw his face into his hands. "I asked them about a security camera I saw by the classroom."

Dave and his twin exchanged frantic brunette absently fiddled with his seatbelt. "That's absolute bullshit." he spat.

"I don't wanna tell Mom and Dad. I have to come in on Saturday morning."

The brakes slightly squeaked as Eli slowed down for a red light. "Uh, that's the same time we have detention."

George quickly wiped his face. "You two got detention too? For what?"

The light turned green. Eli shifted his foot back to the gas with another mild squeak. "I, uh, got caught."

"Smoking?"

Eli flushed. "Yeah."

"What about you, Dave?"

Dave had too much respect for his brother to lie to him. "I got into a fight with a senior."

"Was that you in that fight this morning?"

It was Dave's turn to blush a deep hue. "Yes, it was."

"From what I heard, you were protecting Hal." The car turned onto a new street, one that was much less populous.

"I was." What was he, some valiant hero in a movie? It felt extremely pompous to confirm his brother's observations, even in the most neutral fashion.

"Then, why did you get detention?"

His bruise flared up again, as if it was also reminded of the incident. But, if he couldn't- be a hero, he also couldn't be a martyr. "Because I shouldn't have fought in the first place." he answered through gritted teeth. "There were other ways to help him. I should have just gotten him out of there or something."

"But, that's not right! You didn't start it, so you shouldn't have gotten punished!"

"Listen to Dave, George." Eli snapped. "You know that violence is never the answer, right?"

George noticeably softened. "You're right. I'm sorry, Dave."

"Don't worry about it."

Eli turned into their neighborhood. "Anyway, if all of us have detention at the same time, Mom and Dad don't have to know. I'll take us there and back. We'll say we're going somewhere else, nobody is the wiser."

"That sounds good." Dave said.

They pulled up to their driveway, and Eli shifted the vehicle into park. Seatbelts clicked and zipped back into their places when the brothers exited the car.

"Listen, you can do this," Eli muttered to George. "Just be cool."

George grimly nodded. They approached the front door and knocked. As expected, their mother promptly greeted them (outfitted with an apron and holding a bottle of all-purpose cleaner) and let them inside.

"How was school today?" Eva asked. She sprayed the end table near the door and wiped it down with a paper towel. A cloud of artificial lemon scent pervaded the entrance to the house.

Eli spoke when George anxiously looked up at him. "It was fine. Just your usual day." He patted his little brother's shoulder.

"I'm sorry, but I have to work on my campaign posters." George dropped off his backpack and scurried upstairs.

"Is he alright?" Their mother wiped her hands on her apron.

"Don't worry about him," Dave replied. "He's just nervous about his campaign. He'll get over it soon enough."

"You're right. I'll just leave it be." She untied her apron and walked into the kitchen to put it away.

"I'm gonna stop at Meryl's house real quick, okay?"

Dave was already on his way out when Eli began to trail behind. "I'm coming with him!"

The brunette made sure to shut the door behind him before speaking up. "Why did you come with me?"

"I didn't want to be left alone," Eli leered at his brother. "Besides, why do you want to go and see Meryl anyway?"

"I just want to make sure she's okay. You know, with detention and all."

Dave's twin's face softened. "She is your date, after all. Gotta take care of her."

"Right." Dave flatly stated.

It wasn't a far walk to Meryl's house; it was only across the street. Though the exterior of her house was the same as the rest of the neighborhood, the front yard and porch were decorated with pastel flowers in equally colorful pots. Coupled with the setting sun, the area was worthy of a painting.

Dave stepped up and rang the doorbell. He didn't know what to expect with Meryl's uncle, and figured that that was as polite of a greeting as any.

"You look so dorky just standing there." Eli muttered.

"And you don't?"

Before Eli could retort, the door opened, revealing Meryl in a sweatshirt and jeans. "Dave? Eli? What are you two doing here?"

"Uh," Dave dithered.

Eli scoffed and stepped forward. "We just wanted to see how you were doing, after today." Dave nodded in agreement, albeit embarrassed.

"I'm just fine. I'm not some little girl who needs to be waited on all the time." Meryl grabbed a watering can resting behind her and came outside. The twins stepped out of her path and watched her approach the flowers, crouch down, and water them.

Eli was the first to appear next to her. "Is this some chore your uncle made you do or something?"

"No," she said. "These are my flowers. I've been growing them every year since I was six."

When Dave decided to show up as well, he kneeled down to the height of the flowers and inspected them. The soil in the pots was moist and loamy (on account of just being watered), and the blossoms were just as vibrant up close, their velvet petals magnified by the drops of water sliding down them. Though, a look towards the bottom revealed dead buds, shriveled up and colorless. "Uh, Meryl, I think one of your flowers is dying."

"Yeah, I know." She stuck her hand in the tangle of stems and pulled out the limp plant. "It's getting too cold out for them. They're gonna all die soon."

"That sucks." Eli remarked.

"They'll grow back next year. They're perennials." She picked up the silver can again and watered another set of flowers. "Dave, I can still go to homecoming. The people taking tickets don't know who isn't supposed to be there, and I'll just tell my uncle I'm at work."

"That's good to know." Homecoming wasn't even a priority in Dave's head, but he was relieved that Meryl had one less thing to be potentially upset about. It also solved a problem he unwittingly would have had to face himself.

She traipsed around the yard, showering the thirsty plants until the watering can lost most of its weight. "Well, it was nice to have someone to talk to."

"No problem." Eli said. "Come on, Dave. I'm sure George needs our help with…" he rustled his foot in the grass. "Getting craft supplies out of the basement, or something like that."

"Yep, I'm sure he does." Perhaps a bit too overenthusiastic, Dave and Eli strolled back to their house.


	13. Chapter 13

The Best is Yet to Come (Chapter 13)

Svelte fabric molded itself to Dave's body perfectly as he donned his tuxedo; his mother's fashion choices proved wise once again.

He groaned at his inability to fasten his bowtie, then finally succeeded on the fourth attempt. The brunette flipped up his collar and stood at a military style rest to break in the pants. He let his clasped hands fall to his abdomen, golden cufflinks glinting in the light from his bedroom lamp.

Eli waltzed into the room. He stopped to look over his brother. "Doesn't that seem a little dressy? It's only homecoming." he said, diving into the closet.

"I just want to look nice for Meryl." Dave wiped his moist forehead. "And so her uncle will be okay with me taking her."

"He won't know, remember?" Eli reappeared with a red tie.

"Ugh, right."

"It doesn't really matter." Eli shut off the light. The room was still adequately lit from the setting sun filtering in through their window. "Just hurry up. We need to go soon." He balled up the tie. "And I need Mom's help with my tie."

The twins traipsed down the stairs (a bit awkwardly, in their formal wear), where George was leaning on the railing at the bottom, wearing a white dress shirt with a yellow bow tie and suspenders. He perked up when his brothers joined him.

"You guys look nice." George said. "Eli, do you need help with your tie?"

"Yeah. Do you know where Mom is?"

"I can help you with it." Though George was about a head shorter than his brother, he managed to loop the tie around his neck and form a perfect windsor knot.

"Jesus, where'd you learn to do that?"

"Didn't Mom teach you?"

Eli averted his gaze. "I think I skipped out on that…"

"Wait, are you boys leaving yet?" Eva strided into the room. "My, you all look so handsome!"

"Thanks, Mom." Dave flatly said.

Eva coyishly grinned at her son's remark. "I just wish that I had a camera to take pictures of you ravishing young men." The twins awkwardly chuckled, while George beamed.

"Mom, we have to get going." Eli interjected. He swiped his keys from the end table by the door. "Tell Dad we left, okay?"

"I'll be sure to. Have fun, boys!"

* * *

The homecoming theme was "A Night Under the Stars."

While undoubtedly cliché, it was a classic standby for a reason; it made for beautiful venues. The gymnasium was piled high with blue and yellow crepe paper and streamers. Lights suspended from the ceiling cast a soft luminescence onto the freshly polished floor, almost creating a glow on the hardwood. Tables with refreshments and open chairs were shoved off to the sides, leaving an open dance floor on most of the room.

While most of the males stuck to the same attire of either a simple dress shirt and tie for the experienced seniors, or a full-on tuxedo for the more anxious freshmen, the females varied greatly in their appearance and color palette. Some wore flashy jewelry and brightly pigmented dresses that shimmered in the minimal light, while others stuck to subtler outfits, preferring to stick to duller shades and simply tie up their hair as a show of formality.

Dave scanned the room. His brothers had already dissipated from his sides, in search of their own dates. He found Meryl sitting in one of the chairs, a girl next to her applying makeup.

Meryl was too focused on pulling on one of her high heels; she didn't acknowledge the brunette's presence until she fully secured the blue stiletto on her foot. "Nice to see you, Dave." She stood up, and her midnight blue dress flowed gracefully over her knees.

"Yeah." Dave drawled. Her expectant blue eyes twinkled. "You look beautiful." The last word tumbled past his lips like he was spitting out sandpaper. It wasn't that he didn't believe what he said; it just felt weird to someone unused to giving compliments.

"Thank you." Meryl sweetly replied. She slipped herself into Dave's right arm, snugly wrapped in it. "Come on. I want to go to the dance floor."

"Okay. If that's what you want."

The deafening music drowned out the clacking from Meryl's heels, causing Dave to suddenly feel grateful that she attached herself to his side. He gravitated to a spot with not as many students (though he still touched elbows with some straggler couples) and pulled Meryl around to face him. The gym embraced the upbeat tempo of the song playing, laughter and the pounding of shoes on the floor punctuating each verse.

Dave looked around himself and attempted to mimic his peers' actions. The redhead quickly sealed her lips with her hand, the rest of her face tightening with amusement.

"Look, I'm trying here, okay?" Dave whined.

"I wasn't laughing at you." Meryl took his hand. "I just thought you looked funny there. Why don't you try something like this?" She tugged on his hand and spun herself around, her dress billowing in a spiral of dark chiffon.

Dave pulled Meryl back, his date eagerly throwing herself onto his broad chest. "Uh, sure. I could do things like that." This time, Dave initiated the move, pushing her out and retracting her like a yo-yo of cloth and flaming red hair. She slid back into his arms, grinning like an idiot.

The pair loosened up, their movements growing more passionate and dynamic as a result. While they didn't sweep everyone off of the dance floor with their skill, each twirl and step told the story of their enjoyment well enough.

* * *

Meryl stumbled back to Dave on the latest of a series of pirouettes. "Can you do something else now? I'm getting dizzy."

"I'm sorry." He took hold of her shoulders to stop her teetering. "Why don't you take a break while I get you some punch?"

"That sounds nice."

Dave guided her to the chair she was initially sitting in and placed her there.

The table with the punch bowl was right across from Meryl. While only going in for a surgical strike on the red liquid, he also took note of the various party foods presented around it; a meat and cheese platter, veggie sticks with ranch, and mini sandwiches, among other things. He swiped a slice of turkey and shoved it into his mouth before ladling out two cups of punch.

"Hey buddy, would you move it?" a voice behind him complained. Dave turned around and saw the owner of the voice, Eli.

"Hey. How's your night going?" The two had to shout their conversation over all of the other commotion.

"It's going great!" The blond slipped past his brother and grabbed two cups as well. "Have you seen Wolf's outfit? She looks so fucking hot!"

"Are you sure you should be saying that here?"

" _What?_ "

"Never mind." Cradling the punch close to his chest, Dave waddled around the other partygoers on his way back to Meryl, praying that none of the cups would spill.

He found Meryl primly sitting in the spot where he left her, intently staring at her shiny black nails. He offered her a cup. "Thank you, Dave."

"No problem." The chair next to her had been vacated. Dave took the opportunity to plop down there and sip his own drink. It was too sweet for his liking, but he still slowly drained the cup to follow school dance custom.

Meryl scooted her chair closer to Dave. "Are you having fun?" She took a hearty gulp of punch.

"Yeah, I'm having fun." The two were close enough to be able to talk at a normal volume. "Dancing with you was nice."

She slid her hand onto his thye. "Glad to hear that." Her lip gloss was revealed when she smiled at him.

Dave smiled back at her and observed the other students. The dance floor was much less crowded than before, with only about half of the couples still waltzing around. It seemed that most of them were tired, as all of the chairs were taken up (with others leaning or sitting against the wall). The DJ noticed this change and adapted the music to a slower tempo.

Dave spotted George among those sitting against the wall, with presumably Mei Ling in the chair next to him. He was eagerly conversing with her, and though he couldn't hear the content from across the room, they appeared to be enjoying themselves. Pride spread throughout the older sibling's body at the sight.

He lost the feeling of Meryl's hand on his leg; it moved to link their arms, in addition with her resting her head on his shoulder. He stiffened when the weight leaned onto him.

"Why are you so tense all of a sudden?" Meryl asked.

"Uh, it's nothing." Dave looked down to his lap. "Just a little surprised."

"You're surprised?" Most likely in an effort to fluster him, Meryl pulled him even closer and cooed into his ear. "How has a man like you ever gone without a woman's attention?"

He did so by refuting their advances. Yes, while a decent segment of the women he's come into contact with in school have shown interest, it was never reciprocated. No matter how persistent the females were, they never broke through his blasé demeanor.

"I just, um-" Dave dithered.

It looked like Meryl wasn't listening; she gasped and yanked him up. "Come on, the slow dance is starting."

The redhead led him back to the dance floor, where the atmosphere had calmed down considerably. Couples swayed like waves in the ocean, entwined in each other. A spot was found, and their arms were laced together (with Meryl having to slightly reach up).

"I just noticed this," Meryl said. "Your eyes are a really deep blue."

Dave blinked. "Uh, your's are too."

"Then they must be as gorgeous as your's."

The male's face heated up. Fortunately, it was too dark to see his blush. "Thank you…"

Dave peeked up past his date's head. Most of the other couples were beginning to lean in for kisses and other intimate gestures. His heart sped up and the rest of his body tightened. Most other men would have probably been ready to explode at this stage, but Dave only felt apprehension. Dancing with her was fun, but the thought of planting his lips against her's utterly repulsed him.

Her hand snaked around his neck. While only releasing a sensual sigh, Meryl lowered his head down to her height and curled her lips in a coquettish fashion. Their chests were touching, and they could feel each others' breath on their skin.

Dave pushed her away at the last second.

"Wh-What…?" Meryl leaned back. "What was that? Why did you stop?"

"Meryl…" His tongue froze.

She wiggled herself out of his arms and crossed her own. "I'd know that look anywhere. Do you think something's wrong with me?"

"No, of course not!"

"Then what's your problem?"

"I-" Dave pulled her aside. "I don't think I want to do this…"

"What do you mean you 'don't think you want to do this?'" Meryl snapped. "I've been waiting all night for this moment, and you stiff me at the last second!"

"Meryl, I'm sorry." Dave placed a hand on her shoulder. "I just don't think I like you in that way…"

She swatted his hand away. "Then why did you even ask me out?"

"Um-"

Meryl sniffled. "You know what, just forget it." She disappeared into the crowd.

* * *

A chilly breeze blew past Dave. Though it was cold out, the inside felt too stuffy, and he craved fresh air. The lights inside of the school only barely illuminated the bench he sat on.

The dance was wrapping up; students were walking out the front doors in small clusters, the men's ties loosened and the women's heels removed. The groups were elated and giggling. Dave looked on with both sadness and mild envy.

"Dave?" His little brother's voice startled him. "Where's Meryl?"

"She left." he stated. "Did Mei Ling and her friends go home?"

"Yeah." George held out a pair of keys. "Eli told me to give these to you. He said that him and Wolf were staying with Drebin, and that he would meet us at the school tomorrow."

Dave accepted the keys. "At least he gave us the keys this time."

They searched the area of the parking lot for Eli's car (with George following Dave almost as close as a duckling to its mother), finding it directly under a light. Dave unlocked the car from the passenger side door and climbed into the driver's seat. He stuck the key into the ignition and turned it, making sure to switch on the headlights before pulling out of the parking space.

"How was your night, Dave?" George asked.

"It was fine." He kept his eyes glued to the windshield. "Did you have fun?"

"I had a lot of fun. Mei Ling and her friends were so kind and accepting. I'm still surprised, to be honest."

Dave felt a twinge in his chest. "Don't be surprised when people are nice to you, George. You deserve it."

"Oh, okay…"

The car fell silent after that, with the clicking of each turn signal now painfully noticeable. "Why don't you tell me more about your night?"

George then took the opportunity to rant about a plethora of aspects, from meeting up with Mei Ling and her friends to debating over who would dance with who. The brunette was grateful for his brother's enthusiasm, as he didn't have much energy to keep up a conversation himself.

"Dave, I think I might want to ask out Mei Ling."

"You do?" He'd only been half-paying attention, but those words stuck out.

"Well, yeah. I want to get closer to her."

While Dave still felt a sense of inadequacy clawing inside of him, he still was genuinely proud of the blond. "I think that's awesome, George."

At least someone's night went well.


	14. Chapter 14

The Best is Yet to Come (Chapter 14)

They'd only been in the school for a few minutes, and every step George took wrenched Dave's heart. The wringing of his hands, with the large and watery eyes, were both unbearable. He'd run through various comforting strategies in his head, from parting him on the back to reminiscing on childhood. In his desperation, he even briefly considered holding his hand (like Eli and him did for their sibling when they were younger), but figured that more infantilization wouldn't work.

The two stood outside of their designated room. Dave tugged on the handle; locked. "Are you gonna be okay?" he asked his brother. "Be honest with me. I won't think any less of you, I promise."

George slowly covered his face with his hands. "I'm scared, Dave." he whimpered. "I don't want this going on my permanent record, and I don't know who will be in there, and-"

"You do know who'll be in there." The brunette gently guided the other's hands away from his face to make eye contact. He took on a more steady and firm tone. "Your brothers. We won't let anything bad happen to you, okay?"

George only sniffled and screwed his eyes shut, forcing out tears. Dave pulled him in and have him a pat on his shoulder.

A door opened and shut behind behind him, two peoples' snickering getting closer. Dave fully wrapped his arms around George protectively and waited for the pair to enter his vision.

"Hey Dave," Eli yawned. "Fancy meeting you here, huh?"

He gave his twin a disappointed stare. "Yes, it truly is." He tapped George's shoulder, and he unlatched himself from Dave. "You aren't high right now, are you?"

"I don't think so," Eli combed through a bit of his hair with his fingers. "I mean, we got high last night, but I think it's all out of my system now."

"You'd better hope so. I told Mom we were at the park."

"Really?"

"Like you would've come up with anything better."

Eli deflected the question by drawing attention to his little brother. "What's up with him?"

"He's scared, Eli." Dave jumped at the chance for his twin to take a share of the big brother responsibilities. "Why don't you go comfort him?"

"Okay, yeah." He approached George, who was attempting to keep his face straight. "Hey, George. What's up?"

"H-Hi, Eli," he hiccupped.

"Listen, buddy, detention is nothing to be afraid of." He laced an arm around George's shoulders. "They're nice people, just like you and me. They just happen to break a lot of school rules."

George keened. Eli's partner, turning out to be Drebin, stepped forward. "The people in there have no bone to pick with you. You'll be fine in there."

George sharply sniffled again. His breath hitched as he tried to gulp down air. Eli responded and embraced him with a full hug.

"Th-Thank you," George whimpered. "I'm sorry for being such a baby."

"You're not a baby." Dave sharply interjected.

"Just don't tell Dad." Eli amended.

Stomping was coming down the other side of the hallway. Everyone stopped talking as they waited for the person coming to show themselves.

"Good morning, Drebin." Meryl said. "I must say, that afterparty last night was very relaxing." She shot Dave a bitter sideways glance. "Especially after the night I had."

George wiped his eyes and nose. "Dave, why is she giving you that look?"

In a true act of mercy, Mr. Palmer slid in behind them and unlocked the door before Dave had to answer. "Everybody in," he dejectedly said. "I'm doing a headcount once you're all seated."

Without saying a word, they all filed in and sat relatively close to each other. Names were called by the teacher, and each student responded as curtly as possible, like a prison roll call.

"You are all to stay here until noon." Mr. Palmer folded his hands on the desk. "If anyone attempts to leave the room without my permission, you're getting suspended."

Dave slouched over his desk. His brother (fortunately) dropped the subject for now, and he'd failed to bring anything to do, so he stuffed his hands into his pockets of his sweatshirt and stared out the window. The leaves on the trees turned into the characteristic autumn shades of red, yellow, and brown. The soft wind whipped up the shed foliage against the building. On the inside, the room held an abundance of empty desks that surrounded him.

He checked on Mr. Palmer's attention; he was already enthralled in a book. Dave turned around to face George, who was sitting behind him. "See, no one else is even here," he whispered. "You're gonna be fine."

George nodded. He slumped over his own desk and took deep breaths. Crinkling came from Drebin's jacket, and a piece of gum appeared next to him.

"My compliments." Drebin said. He handed gum to Eli, Dave, and Meryl as well.

"Thanks Drebin," Meryl popped the red strip into her mouth. "You're a good friend, _unlike some people._ "

"Okay, I'm sorry I said I didn't like you that way at the dance," Dave hissed. "Would you stop acting like that?"

"What?" George lost interest in his distress. "Dave, what did you say to her?"

"Quiet, please." Mr. Palmer moaned. The teens jumped.

"Just drop it for now," Dave said after his little brother squeaked. Detention with your little brother present was not the time or place to settle a romantic squabble. He addressed the only female in the room. "We'll talk about this later, okay?"

Meryl pouted. "I don't want to talk to you."

Dave released an exasperated sigh. He returned to the thrilling activity of gazing at his surroundings. He took the gum given to him and pocketed it. He never cared much for it, but didn't want to be rude and throw it out.

The atmosphere drove nails into everyone's heads; it was more tense than during finals. The irritating rapping of fingers on the desks, and the periodical sighs shredded each other's nerves.

"Eli, can you stop doing that?" Dave felt his twin kick the bottom of his chair for the third time now.

"Sorry." Eli said. "I'm just antsy."

"Why?"

"I'm hungry."

The announcements signaled. "Mr. Palmer, please report to the front office. Thank you."

The teacher dropped his book and rose up. "I'll be right back. No one is to leave this room while I'm gone." He made a point of flashing his keys to the students and locking the door on his way out.

Those actions set Dave on edge even more than before. While only mildly nagging at first, the feeling of claustrophobia grew to consume him. Perhaps without any stimulation from a lesson being taught or the chatter of a flock of other students, he was only left his own anxiety to ruminate on. He gripped his wrists and kept silent, internally willing himself to move on from such an overdramatic emotion. He was starting to sound like the kids who would justify their own laziness and pointless obstinance by whining and crying about how "school is unfair" or "school is a prison."

Eli was the first to exploit the ability to raise his voice. "What was that about?"

"I'd like to know as well." Drebin said.

"Maybe he needed to fill out a form or something," George offered. "The teachers have to do that for these kinds of things, right?"

Footsteps outside, then the fiddling of the door handle were heard.

"Is he trying to come back in?" Meryl asked.

The brunette's attention was peaked. "I don't know…" He slowly stepped up to the door and listened. The handle rattled again. "Hello?"

"Huh? SSSSSSSomeone's in here?"

Dave would recognize that fearful and wimpy voice anywhere. "Hal?"

"D-Dave? Is that you?"

"Why is Hal out there?" Eli said. The rest of the group had now clamored around Dave to hear the conversation. "Ask him, would ya?"

"Shut up, Eli." Dave whispered. "Um, what are you doing here?" His twin snorted.

"I came for a tutoring session. I need a book from the closet in this room." Hal paused. "W-What are you doing here?"

"Detention."

"From what?"

"The fight."

Hal's voice shook. "D-Dave-"

"Don't you dare feel guilty," Dave interjected. "It's not your fault in the slightest. That was my choice, and I don't regret it."

"Oh, you don't regret saving the helpless nerd, but turn me away when I want to kiss you?" Meryl huffed.

" _Not the time,_ Meryl."

"That's what happened?" George said.

"I'll tell you about it later, George."

"Can you ask him to get me something from the vending machine?" Eli requested. "I'm starving."

"Look, can you all just shut up for five seconds?" Dave snapped. "Besides, Eli, how would he even get the snack to you after he bought it?"

"Mr. Smith has a key to this room," Hal said. "I'll go get it. I need that book anyway." More footsteps echoed down the hallway.

They all lingered around the door in suspense. Luckily, it didn't last long. A second set of jangling keys slid itself into the lock, which clicked open as it turned.

Hal meekly peeked in through the slit he allowed himself. "I-It's open…" He slipped in.

"Where's the book?" Dave was already approaching the supply closet in the back of the classroom.

"It's in there." Hal followed Dave into the small room lined with bookshelves. "It's high up on that one." He flicked on a dusty light and pointed to the top of a shelf stocked with other thick textbooks.

"Hold on." Though Dave had to stand on the tips of his toes, he was able to reach the book and bring it down for him (even though he stumbled and almost toppled into Hal). "This, right?"

"Y-Yeah, you're r-right." Hal accepted the heavy textbook and clutched it to his thumping chest. "Th-Thank you." He moved his fingers to the spots where Dave grabbed it, trying to absorb the warmth from them. The school had a propensity to always be cold; though his body was protected with a hoodie and jeans, his fingers were left chilly and slightly stiff.

The pair walked out of the closet, where Eli was waiting. "Listen, Hal, I need you to do me a favor." He tossed some money on top of the book. "Go to the vending machine around the corner and get me something from there, okay?"

The scrawny male warily stared at the money. "W-What do you wa-ant?"

"I don't care, just get me something."

"O-Okay!" Hal scurried away.

Dave dusted himself off. "Way to make him your whipping boy." he joked.

"It was just a simple favor."

While they were talking, George had snuck up on them. They turned their attention to his worried countenance when they were finished.

"What's up, George?" Eli asked.

"Do you think they're gonna revoke my enrollment?" the blond answered. "To Anchorage Academy, I mean."

"Did you say Anchorage Academy?" Drebin (followed by Meryl) joined the group outside of the closet. "You got a letter from them?"

"Yeah." Eli leaned up against the wall. "I got a letter from some remedial school, too."

"If that's the case, you should chuck them both." Drebin pulled a sucker out from his jacket. "Those are bad news."

"Why?" George inquired, stepping forward.

Meryl took the lead in the conversation. "If you end up going to those places, you never see your family or friends ever again. The schools send back fake letters to fool everyone into thinking you're doing fine." It was possible that the sourness in her words was caused by Dave.

"What?"

"It's true," Drebin said. He unwrapped his sucker and stuck it into his mouth. "I heard that one time, at a parent-teacher conference, a bunch of 'em got together and compared the letters they got back from their kids. They were all exactly the same, save for personal details."

Meryl hummed in agreement. "It's kind of an open secret, but no matter what, people still fall for it."

"What?" Dave exclaimed. "This all sounds crazy. Who would still fall for it if it's such an 'open secret?'" He couldn't help but wonder how such alarmist playground gossip worked itself so deep into the consciousness of the student body, if what Drebin and Meryl were saying was true.

"More and more freshman are being recruited." Drebin popped the candy out of his mouth. "Their classes tend to box them in with only other freshman, out of the loop from the people who know better. If they get a letter, the faculty push it onto them as a good thing, and most parents go along with it. With nowhere else to turn, the poor kid gets shipped off."

Were they telling ghost stories around a campfire? "Are you saying that freshman are purposefully kept out of other classes to make them easier to send to these academies?" Dave's words dripped with disbelief and sarcasm. "Have you ever considered that they end up in similar classes to meet credit requirements?" A twinge of worry played under his skin, despite his skepticism.

Before George was about to say his piece, the door clicked open again. Hal walked up to Eli and presented him his snack and a handful of coins, the book missing. "H-Here you go."

"Thanks, buddy." He took the money and looked over the packaging of the treat. "Wait, you got me a granola bar? Dude, you suck."

"I-I'm sorry," Hal squeaked. "I-I just th-thought that's what you wanted…"

The brunette groaned. "Don't worry about it," Dave patted Hal's shoulder. "He's just kidding, _right_?"

"Yeah," Eli drawled. He tore open the wrapper and took a bite. "These aren't too bad anyway."

"Um, Drebin," George resumed his response. "How do you know that parent-teacher conference story is true?"

"That's a good point," Dave added. "This all sounds like conspiracy theory bullshit to me."

Drebin stuffed his hands into his pockets. "I didn't believe it at first either, but my sources never fake hard evidence."

"What are you guys talking about?" Hal asked.

"The letters."

"Oh yeah," He furrowed his brow in thought. "To be honest, I wonder why I still haven't g-gotten one yet. I was in the top ten for grades out of the whole school last year, a-and I didn't get sent anything."

"I guess you should consider yourself lucky, if what Drebin's heard is true." Dave said.

"Uh, yeah." Hal nervously glanced at the door. "How long has your teacher been gone?"

Eli thoughtfully munched his granola bar. "A little while now, actually."

"You should probably go now." Dave gestured for the rest of the group to return to their desks. "It was nice seeing you, Hal."

Hal's face heated up. "N-No problem." He peeked down both sides of the hallway, then rushed out.


	15. Chapter 15

The Best is Yet to Come (Chapter 15)

George had been stalking the front office for a few minutes now. At the very least, no one noticed how close he stuck to the door. It was possible he was still anxious about going into the office because of his prior detention, though it happened a few weeks ago.

That left plenty of time for snow to fall into a light layer outside. The students seemed relatively unfazed, however, as they wore the same clothes since homecoming. Unused to the cold, George opted for a sweater and thicker jeans.

His campaign had gone into full swing at this point. He'd spent countless nights up in his room, poring over posters and scraps of ideas for speeches. Push was coming to shove; he had only made verbal promises to the students. He needed concrete evidence to stay in the race.

He felt the pressure of dwindling time; he would be late for first period if he hesitated any longer. He opened the door and sulked up to the front desk. The receptionist was currently on the phone, leaving George to timidly fidget while waiting. He distracted himself by drinking in the features of the framed photographs of nature scenes and motivational posters.

"Okay, thank you." The receptionist replaced the phone and returned to her computer, meticulously clicking away at keys.

George gulped. He would have to get her attention. He saw a silver bell on the desk, beckoning him with its gleam. That would be too obtrusive, though. "Um, excuse me…" His voice, though kept low, pierced the productive quiet of the room.

The clicking ceased. "Yes, what can I do for you?" Her tone carried a hint of annoyance.

"Where's the treasurer's office?"

"Over there, hun." She pointed to the right of her, down a hallway lined with doors. "Last one on the right."

He breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you."

She had already gone back to her work. George sauntered down to the last door, the wall beside it embellished with a gold plaque that read "Treasurer's Office."

Though he felt like his limbs being pulled by chains, he opened the door.

Mei Ling was say down at the desk, sitting through papers laid out before her. She looked up at George as he entered. "Oh, hi George."

"Hi." he awkwardly spat. He danced around the topic in his head, not having worked up the nerves to ask yet. "Congratulations on being elected treasurer. And sorry it took me so long to say so."

"Aw, it's okay." she said. "People get busy sometimes." She gathered a few stray papers into a pile. "Is that why you came here?"

"Um, no." He felt stupid for being nervous. This is just a simple request, isn't it? He's entitled to it too, according to the school handbook. "I need to see the school's budget allocation records."

Mei Ling hesitated for a moment. "Okay," she thoughtfully replied. She walked over to the filing cabinet across from the desk and opened up the top drawer. "No one has ever asked for those before, I think."

"Really?"

"Yes. I don't know why it's so rare. We're very lucky to have enough freedom and trust placed with us to see these."

"Yeah…"

George stood petrified as Mei Ling searched for the document. She leafed through several folders (even opening one up, only to replace it in disappointment) before crisply pulling out the bundle of papers.

"Here are the documents." She handed the packet to him. "You can't leave this room with it, though."

"Thank you." He accepted the papers and skimmed through until he found the desired information. On the fourth page, he came across a simple summary of the percentages the school budget was divided up into. The statements were extremely vague, but he scanned it for what he needed.

When looking at the other stats, however, he noticed something. He scrunched his brow in concentration and peered closer at the sheet.

"Is something wrong?" Mei Ling asked.

"Uh, no," George blathered. "I just had trouble seeing something." Some instinct told him it was a bad idea to question the gospel of school financial records.

After a few minutes of poring over the other pages (to make sure he didn't miss anything important), he handed the packet back to Mei Ling, who was still patiently standing beside him.

"Do you need anything else?" she inquired, already on her way back to the filing cabinet.

"No thank you," George replied. He stuck his hands into his pockets. "I have to get going."

"Me too." She retrieved her backpack from under the desk. "I'll see you later, George."

"Yeah. See ya."

* * *

"I'm telling you, those numbers didn't add up!"

The twins up front were utterly perplexed. "What do you mean 'the numbers didn't add up?'" Dave balked. His brother had launched into a heated tirade about his trip to the treasury before school as soon as he claimed the backseat of Eli's car. He didn't need this bewilderment right at the end of the day.

"Money went missing. Funds were allocated to places that could never have reasonably needed them." George rambled. "It's all incredibly suspicious."

Eli started the car and flicked the switch for the windshield wipers. A few drops of rain had already fallen from the cloudy sky and splattered onto the glass. "Are you sure you didn't just read it wrong or something?"

"I'm positive! I couldn't have read it wrong if I tried!"

"George, we believe you." Eli slowly insisted.

Dave had to commend his twin on that appeasement. "We're just making sure you're not getting so worked up over nothing."

"But it's _not_ nothing!"

Dave sighed. He suddenly felt thirty years older, trying to console his tantruming son. "George, do you even know how a school budget works?"

His passion slightly cooled. "No, but..." He bit his lip and acquiesced to his brother's words.

Eli pulled out of the parking lot, a soft groan slipping out under his breath. He signaled and turned out onto the main road without saying a word, the raindrops gaining frequency.

"Like Eli said, we believe that you saw what you saw." Dave dressed up his tone to appear more mentor like. "We just don't think that your interpretation was entirely accurate."

"You're the one saying that," Eli corrected. "That's not what I meant when I said that. I actually think George might be onto something."

"What?"

"Yeah. He's not a school administrator, but I trust that he knows his stuff. It also kinda goes along with what Drebin's heard."

"Do you seriously believe anything he tells you? It's just gossip and stupid rumors."

"I don't think so," Eli challenged. "A lot of shady things have been happening lately. The security cameras, detention, things like that. I think even you can agree that those were fishy."

Dave almost instinctually rubbed his jaw. Leftover anger was stoked when he remembered Adam's fist making contact with his face. "In hindsight, the situation was probably just taken out of context." he grinded out. "I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Believing dumb excuses is just a way to avoid responsibility." He felt the same way about Adam's parting shot toward George's campaign; just smoke and mirrors to look tough.

"Say what you want, but I've heard differently. I've heard that the administration punished you to get you to stop defending Hal."

"What does Hal have to do with any of this?"

"No one knows that yet." Eli signaled and made another turn. "But there's talk that he's tied to the school somehow."

"Really?" George piped up from the backseat. "Like, nepotism or something?"

"Uh, not sure about that." Eli shifted his gaze around, then gave Dave a look.

The brunette huffed, tired and dejected. "If Hal was getting special treatment from family members working at the school, why would he be getting his ass kicked so much? Shouldn't it be the opposite?"

Eli turned into their neighborhood. A puddle splashed up from under the tires, further soaking the sidewalk next to it. "That's why it's just talk. There's been no evidence of it yet." The driver quickly spotted their driveway and pulled into it. "I can think logically too, Dave."

Dave turned his attention toward George. "Look, just promise me that you won't fall for these dumb conspiracy theories. You're smarter than that, and you have better things to do."

"I need to do more research." George unfastened his seatbelt. "I should ask Mom for a ride to the library this weekend or something…"

"I can take you now, if you want." Eli offered. "I have nothing else to do."

"Like homework?" Dave interjected.

Eli patted him on the shoulder. "You're funny, Dave."

Dave playfully rolled his eyes. "Just give me your backpacks. I'll bring them in."

Eli happily dumped his bag onto his twin, but George pulled his away when Dave groped for it. "I need to bring mine."

"Whatever you say." Dave threw open the car door and immediately slammed it shut to keep the car dry from the torrent of rain. Though he wanted to sprint, Eli and George watched through the streaming water droplets as their brother hauled their backpacks to the front door. He huddled on the porch until their mother answered and let him in (most likely fretting about his soaked state).

"Come on up, George." Eli patted the passenger seat. "I'm not your chauffeur."

The younger sibling placed his bag into his old seat and scuttled out of the car, practically diving into the passenger seat.

* * *

The rain had advanced into a full-on downpour as Eli returned to the main road. His windshield wipers were sweeping the water off as fast as they could, but it only provided glimpses of the streets ahead before the glass flooded again.

"You said turn on Granger Street?" Eli asked, bobbing his head every which way to get a better view.

"Granger was back there," George replied. He checked the passenger window. "At least, I think it was…"

"Do you know where we are?" He signalled and turned right at last minute. "I can't see a thing!"

"Neither can I!" George whimpered. "I'm sorry, Eli. I should have studied the directions better. This is all my fault."

"It's not your fault that it started pouring." Eli continued down the street, with George frantically wiping away the fogginess from his window.

"Stop!"

The older sibling slammed on the brakes, jerking the two bodies in the car forward upon fully stopping. "What's wrong?"

"You just ran a stop sign!"

He scoffed. "That's not that big of a deal-"

Wailing sirens blared from behind them, growing louder as they approached. Even through the haze, the brothers could see the flashing red and blue lights from the rearview mirror. .

" _Shit_." Eli hissed. "George, get the insurance from the glove box." He swiftly pulled out his wallet and fumbled for his license as his younger brother obediently handed him the insurance card.

Eli rolled down his window when a rather scrawny police officer approached his car. "Afternoon, officer." Eli stuck out his license and insurance. "Some weather we're having, aren't we?"

"The officer accepted the papers, but rebuffed his small talk. "Sir, have you been drinking or taking any drugs?"

"Not at all, officer. I was just taking my little brother to the library." George nodded while blinking tears out of his eyes.

"Do you know what you did?"

"Er, not at all, officer." Eli plastered on his best innocent smile. "Please, officer, my little brother needs to study. He has to be homeschooled because he's autistic. This is the only chance he has to get an education."

The officer raised an eyebrow, then grunted. "You ran a stop sign. I'll run your license and get you out of here soon." He traipsed off in the rain.

"Why did you lie to a police officer?" George cried. "Going to the library was true, but I'm not homeschooled or autistic! You're going to get us in more trouble than we already are!"

"Listen," Eli paused and lowered his voice. "If we have a good enough sob story, we'll have a better chance of just getting off with a warning."

The officer came back, handing Eli the license and insurance. "Sir, I'm going to have to write you a ticket for running a stop sign. Because you're under eighteen, you'll have to pay the ticket in court with your legal guardian present."

Eli accepted the slip of paper handed to him. "What? I just-" He was cut off by George tightly gripping his arm. He exhaled and continued. "I mean, yes officer."

"Take care, you two." The officer returned to the squad car, and puddles splashed as the vehicle drove away.

"Son of a bitch," Eli muttered. He peered at the ticket. "Seventy-five dollars? Dad's gonna be pissed."

"I'm sorry, Eli," George wetly sniffled. "I should've just waited until the weather was better. Now you're gonna get in trouble. I'm so sorry."

"I already said this isn't your fault." Eli pulled George in with one arm. "I don't care what Dad does to me. I'll do my punishment, and that's the end of it."

"But…"

" _Listen_ ," Eli cooed. "We're gonna go to the library, and you'll get even smarter than you already are. You'll then become student body president, and then president of the United States, where you'll run the country amazingly."

George could spot endless fallacies in his brother's words, but he couldn't care less at the moment; what mattered was his embrace and comforting tone. "Yeah…"

"And you're gonna give big brother Eli a lot of pardons, right?"

"Yeah."

"Good." The older male patted George on the back before releasing him. "Now, the library's around here somewhere, and I need your help finding it."

The downpour had ceased while they were talking. Only a few stray raindrops landed on the windshield from then out.


	16. Chapter 16

The Best is Yet to Come (Chapter 16)

Though the sky had cleared a while ago, the air was still thick and muggy. The sun had already set by the time Eli and George made it back home. Their clothes were somewhat soaked, and they reeked of the distinctive smell of dried rainwater.

When they came in, they witnessed Eva and Dave setting the table. The brunette looked awkward handling the plates and cutlery; he seemed to tower over them, and laid them down without a care in the world. To his little brother, who had been assigned that duty for years, the details that Dave failed to pay attention to were alarmingly obvious to him; a plate not perfectly centered, a knife placed before a fork.

Regardless, George said nothing and took special care to wipe his feet on the doormat before taking off his shoes. "We're home!" he announced.

"Oh, hi," Dave said after throwing down a napkin. "How was the library?"

"About what you'd expect." Eli kicked off his own sneakers and approached the table. He leaned into his brother and muttered "Something interesting did happen, though."

Dave raised his eyebrows. " _What does that mean?_ "

Eli pulled Dave to the side, glancing to the kitchen to make sure his mother was out of earshot. "I got a ticket for running a stop sign."

Dave's expression quickly switched to annoyance. "You're kidding."

"I have to pay seventy-five dollars. You wanna see it?"

"Can I ask how you missed it?"

Eli folded his arms. "It was pouring out, and I...couldn't quite see it."

Dave sighed. Of all the screw ups his brother could've made, he was at least grateful that this one was relatively tame. "You're under eighteen. You're gonna have to show up to court with Mom or Dad for that." Both disappointment and dread flooded Dave's insides.

"I know."

The two disbanded when Eva strolled out of the kitchen, hefting a large pot of stew over to the table. She set it down on the arranged potholders with a thud. "Sit down, you two. It's almost time to eat."

"Yeah, Mom." Eli quickly claimed a place at the table, Dave following suit.

When George took his spot, he rearranged the positioning of his silverware and refolded his napkin. Dave couldn't blame him; he didn't do nearly as good of a job as his little brother would have.

Heavy boots stomped through the front door, prompting Eva to greet her husband with the usual hug and kiss. "Make sure to wipe your boots off well," she chided. "I don't want them leaking water onto the floor."

"Of course, Eva." Jack slipped off his boots on the doormat and approached the table.

"Hi Dad," Eli anxiously said, straightening out his posture. "How was work?"

Jack gave his son a suspicious look. "It was fine, Eli."

"Cool. Anything interesting happen?"

Dave's disappointment and pity in his brother only increased. "Why don't you leave Dad alone? I'm sure he's tired."

Eli caught a glimpse at George; he looked confused at first, but put it together and silently willed his brother to stop. "Alright."

The parents took their usual seats at the table, and stew was doled out. Eli and Dave kept shifting glances at each other, waiting for the right moment to say anything.

"George, Dave told me that Eli took you to the library after school," Eva said. "What was that about?"

"I wanted to do research for my campaign." George glanced at Eli for approval. When he received no response, he continued. "I looked up past ones and made notes on their strengths and weaknesses."

Dave thought back to Adam's claim of George never winning the election; he had no reason to believe it back then, and he had even less of a reason to believe it now. He'd never seen a single poster or other campaign trinket from him. It was a wonder anyone knew he was running at all.

Dave was still extremely proud of George, but had to try to save his twin too. "Yeah, I thought that was really nice of Eli to take him. Especially with how bad it was pouring out."

"That rain was really something," Jack added. "I could barely see anything on my way home."

Dave nudged Eli and stared at him. Eli tapped the side of his bowl and looked down into it for a few seconds before accepting his fate. "Actually, speaking of not being able to see in the rain..." Jack's spoon clinked against his bowl when he let go of it. "I got a ticket."

"Sweetie, what happened?" Eva cooed.

George stepped in. "Like Dad said, the rain was really difficult to see through. We didn't know where we were going, and Eli accidentally ran a stop sign."

"Dad, I didn't mean to, I swear! I honestly just wanted to take George to the library."

A pause. "Anything else?" Jack groaned.

"Eli lied to the officer that I was homeschooled and autistic." George muttered.

Jack gripped the bridge of his nose. His whole body radiated exasperation. "How much is the ticket for?" He appeared to be too disappointed to even address George's point.

"Seventy-five dollars." Eli admitted.

Dave watched his little brother repeatedly scoop up broth with his spoon and dump it onto the beef and vegetables in his bowl. He wished that his father would just dole out a punishment to end the tension and his guilt.

"Son, you're actually in luck." Jack said.

"What?" The rest of the table was equally as interested.

"There is an opening at one of the fast-food restaurants at the base." The family was a bit lost, but continued listening. "I put in a good word for you. The manager said he wants to give you an interview on Saturday."

Eli glimpsed at Dave, who didn't respond. "Uh, thank you?"

Jack sighed. "Here's going to be your punishment. You don't have the money to pay the ticket, so I will. I will also go with you to your court hearing. However, you will pay me back every cent of that ticket, _with interest._ You're not getting any money from me until that debt is paid."

"But what if I don't get the job?"

"You will, Elliot." Jack sternly concluded. Eli couldn't help but cringe when his father said his full name. It didn't sound right to him.

"Eli, you've worked in foodservice before, right?" Eva said. "I'm sure your father mentioned that. I think you'll be fine."

The dinner carried on in silence. Eli observed his father's countenance retain the look of disappointment. Even through his classic teenage obstinance, he almost felt bad for his old man. There were calls from the office at school for truancy, and breakdowns on the side of the road when he ran out of gas or had some other problem unique to beater cars; his father was always there to speak with the principal, jumpstart his battery, or to do anything else necessary to get his son out of trouble.

"Dad, I'm really sorry." Eli blurted.

Jack took some time to process the words and their surprising sincerity. "Eli," he began. His son was grateful for the switch back to his nickname. "Listen to me. You're a good kid, and I know you didn't mean to get a ticket. You just don't make good choices sometimes, and I get disappointed." He wiped his mouth with his napkin, then gently replaced it. "I know you can do better."

Tendrils of guilt gripped Eli's chest. "Okay Dad, I'll try to be better."


End file.
